


Pixie Dust and Fate Or, is Bo Tango or is she Cash?

by RazeFire



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, I really can write Porn. It just never fit here. Honestly., Somehow Bo and Tamsin ended up in a Buddy Cop movie in the middle here, Somewhere between Season 3 and 4., but don't think too hard about the Chronology, seriously AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 04:46:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 45,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3195812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RazeFire/pseuds/RazeFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bo catches a case on the Dark Side of Town. A kidnapped teen Fae. Lauren contacts an old friend on the same side of town for a consult. Tamsin is ordered by the Morrigan to assist and likes it SO much. There's a vampire, a real one. Kenzi is put in danger and makes a choice. Inari puts in an appearance. Dyson is in here a bit, as is Hale. Some exposition of my personal Head Canon regarding human and Fae relationships.</p>
<p>There is some implied sex between Bo and Lauren and an actual relationship between Bo and Dyson is alluded to as well. Like the tags say, I can do porn, it just didn't fit in here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Client

**Author's Note:**

> This thing has been writing itself for about 2-3 weeks. Several ideas I had regarding the show came together in a weird way. Many parts of this surprised me, the first being the Bo and Tamsin Buddy Cop action. 
> 
> This leads into a Public Service announcement.
> 
> If you, as a writer, find yourself (like me) starting works and not finishing them I have some advice. It may just be relevant to me, my own personal thing. But here it is anyway.
> 
> I write the stories I tell myself. If you are the same, I suggest you stop 'writing' in your head too far ahead of where you have written on paper/keyboard/tablet/telegraph key/whatever. I did. I thought about a lot of other things in my ADD brain, including future plots for this story and how screwed up canon would be by the 'now' of this story. 
> 
> But that's my advice, stop writing so far ahead that you can't be surprised by what you write at the keyboard.

**Kenzi  
The Clubhouse **

Refreshingly nearly hangover free, Kenzi is only in a mildly bad mood at being awakened at 

_10:00 am. Way to early for that noise. If it’s either Lauren or Dyson they better have breakfast._

She blinks sleepily at the figure outside the Clubhouse door. She looks entirely out of place and rather scared. Conventional suburban housewife and mother in short Hispanic form. 

“Yes?,” she spits testily. The woman looks over her shoulder and around again. She whispers, then stutters and speaks again.

“I’m looking for Bo, the Unaligned succubus. I saw a flyer that-”

Kenzi nods her head, motioning the woman inside. She points to the couch and moves to the kitchen and yells. “Bo, unwrap Dr. Love’s legs from your neck and get down here! We’ve got a client!”

It takes a few minutes for her to hear the creaks and rumbling that indicate that she has indeed awoken her friend as well as a pleasing lack of any other footsteps. The potential client stares as Kenzi putters about the kitchen to prep the coffee maker.

“There’s no one here Kenzi, I’ll be down in a minute.” This was followed by several grumbles that the sleepy girl couldn’t be bothered to decipher. Their potential clients’ whitening face showed her shock at the interaction.

“What? Surely you’ve heard about the Succudrama that is Bo’s life ?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later, Bo and Kenzi continued to question the client. A Dark Fae Wood Nymph, Barta d’Angelo, was asking them to find her missing daughter.

“Ok. So doesn’t the Dark, like, have it’s own cops and stuff?” Kenzi asked. Her second cup of coffee allowed her to hit her stride in the partnership.

The Nymph nodded. 

“Of course, but that doesn’t mean much. I’m not important, my Clan is not very powerful. We have more money than the average human family of course, but it’s nothing compared to even the lowest of the Morrigan’s confidants. Anyone I could ask for help I have, but no one will LISTEN!”

The last was shouted, with her fist pounding on her chair arm, which suddenly grew a 6 inch spike. Bo moved minutely towards Kenzi but shifted instead to the client. Her hand moving to a shoulder to calm her. The reassurance appeared to work , with the spike disappearing even as the woman’s eyes shone with tears.

Kenzi tilted her head at her partner. “So, it’s not everyone who can just barge in and make an unscheduled appointment to see the Morrigan.”

“Oh no. I’d never make it past the front door of her building without some groveling, gifts of bribery to her lower staff and a year long wait for 5 minutes of time. And Dark Fae cops are… Dark.”

Bo nodded. “So you think she might have gotten caught up in some Dark Fae drug gang? What makes you think that?”

“She met a boy. A-”

Kenzi shouted, even as she leaned back on the couch to distance herself. “Of course she did.”

Bo’s scowl, of course, bounced cleanly off the human’s armor of feigned concern.

“Ok Bobolicious, you get the Fae deets while I ring up some of my boys. Someone will know something about this ‘Fairy Dust, or whatever this Fae coke is called this week.” 

She looked up to Barta’s drying eyes to confirm the name of the newest drug sensation and received a nod. She left it to Bo to get whatever else they might need from the distraught woman.

Bo’s ears followed the rapid fire Russian streaming from her friend until she could no longer hear it easily, then returned to the client. She grabbed a spare notebook from the coffee table and, flipping through it quickly, tore out a few empty pages from the back. Her eyes followed the tight script of her lover’s precise scientific notations even as she handed the Nymph the paper. 

“Please write down whatever addresses and people you can think of that might help us get started. I’m just going to go up and get dressed. When Kenzi and I come back we’ll get started right away.”

“Ok, I will. Thank you.”

Bo flashed a tight smile and a nod. 

“No, it’s fine. We’ll find out what has happened with your daughter. You have my word.”


	2. Reaching Out and Connecting

**Bo  
The Camaro **

“Dyson, it’s”

She hears it over the line, the flatness in his voice. 

_“Bo.”_

“Uh, Yeah. I-”

_“What do you need Bo? Are you hurt? Do you need-”_

She quickly shook her head, with Kenzi giving her bizarre cross-eyes looks. 

“No. I’m on a case. A Wood Nymph’s daughter has gone missing.”

I hear the sigh clearly over the crappy reception. 

_“She’s a Dark Fae Bo. I’d have heard something already if it wasn’t. They have their own-”_

Kenzi scowls and slaps my arm before I can give my scathing reply. Her finger is up in warning as I nod.

“I know Dyson. And as much as I hate to admit it, the Light does seem to have a small advantage when it comes to seeing after the needs of the little people at the bottom of the food chain. It’s a young girl Dyson. She hasn’t chosen-”

_“Fae go with their families Bo. But…”_

She can hear his shaking-head disbelief at once again giving in.

_“ I’ll look into some names for you, try to match it up with whoever Kenzi’s got from her friends.”_

I nod slowly as Kenzi spins her hand in a gesture of continuing .

I narrow my eyes. 

“Thank you Dyson. I appreciate it.”

My tongue fires out in reply to my friends’ implication that I can’t handle the situation tactfully.

_“I’ll call you in a few hours. And tell the brat not to give you such a hard time.”_

“Ok, I will.” 

I start swatting at her before the call even disconnects. 

“What was THAT!” I ask as she pokes at me in defense.

“Dyson said I should tell ‘the brat’ to not give me such a hard time.”

“Orgghhh. Doggy may find a little present in a drawer of that desk of his. I am not a brat. I am 6 ounces of Kick Ass in a 5 ounce can! And I will blow out at the slightest shake. All over that mangy Wolf!”

I cock my head, brow squenched in a question. “Huh?”

“Oh, just shut it. It sounded much better in my head. Let’s head in and lay some Succu-love on these jokers. Strev says some dudes working the door have some ‘pixie dust colored nose candy’. It’s kind of early yet, but bouncers sometimes help set up the stage for the night.”

We slide out of the Camaro and eye the run down nightclub. I reach back into grab a few things. Kenzi’s eyes agree as she watches me make the necessary adjustments.

The sign proclaims the place to be ‘The Green Line’. With the broken neon bulbs in the sign it look like it’s called the ‘He GreL’ in the dark. Having some experience, we look to find the employees entrance, bypassing the main doors. As expected, deliveries are being made over here, with a few overly muscled and ugly ‘men’ with the occasional protruding incisor doing some unloading. 

The ‘smarter’ looking Ogre is supervising. On a bar stool propping open the door while the others hand things up to the dock.  
\----------------------------  
 **Kenzi  
The Green Line **

Kenzi is always amazed at how hard it is for people to NOT notice Bo. This guy is looking over the scores for last night and, judging by his face, he’s pretty happy. A gambler making good. And he’s pulled out from his very happy place just as soon as he hears her boots crunching on the asphalt.

Bo’s told me often enough how people’s auras light up around her, especially when they’re attracted to her. As most people with eyes are. This guy must be putting out a 1000 watts of power. I can see it in his face, he doesn’t even bother to disguise it. And then that slimy gaze briefly sweeps over my hot bod and I need another shower.

“Can I help you ladies?,” he schmoozes.

“Yeah, me and my friend front for The Astras, a punk band. We heard that the manager here might be looking for some talent.” 

Even without a Love-whammy, I can tell the scuzball is interested. It might have been easier to just lay it on him, but Bo is on this new conservation kick the Doc impressed on her. I can see the point, even if I would have much rather she had made this guy her bitch instead of having to endure his greasy leering.

“Sure. Gary is always looking for new,” I repress a heart-felt shiver at that gaze. “Talent. He’s inside setting up the stage.”

“Hey, Thanks. Maybe we’ll see you around if we get the job?”

Her hair bounces as she swivels off, I try to give at least a little of the same even as I feel him making a RADAR map of my ass as we stride inside. I wonder sometimes if Bo even knows how much she flirts? It’s gotta be hard for whoever she’s with this wee-. Ok, that’s not fair. 

It’s Lauren. My BoBo is with the Ash-holes’ slave girl and I have to learn to accept that. And I think maybe Bo needs to know that she needs to reign in on some stuff. The Doc isn’t in all that confident position in regards to Bo’s ‘affections’. Bo might just be thinking that it’s another of the LONG list of things Lauren has adapted to in her love-addled head. Now that I’ve seen it in action again it just now makes me think that it might be yet another issue she and Lauren need to think about.

My brain REALLY wants to get into a whole planning mode regarding Bo’s previous relationship experience; ie NONE, but it’s time to put the moves on Gary. Which consists of me pushing my purely human meat brain to try and scope out this aura thing all the Fae can see when the Subbuboss puts her whammy on. I think I can see something, probably a tensing and then a sudden fluidity in the chosen victims’ muscles starting from where BoBo touches his arm. The glassy eyes as he’s suddenly putty in her hands. 

We’re hustling out before he snaps out of his happy-pants buzz, with everyone else in here busy loading or cleaning. We give Steve a miss, going for the undoubtedly not-up-to-code emergency exits. For once we don’t need the extra hardware Bo had stashed in her jacket earlier.

“Thanks for taking a pass on the slime-shower BoBo. Stevie boy’s gaze left me feeling a need for a pool chemical skin exfoliation.”

“Yeah, I felt it too. It weirded me out. It wasn’t even all lust. More of an element of, like he was more interested in owning me than… you know. It took a lot for me to not just turn around and loosen a couple of his teeth.”

We peeled out fast enough to leave a pile of flying gravel before she whipped the beast onto the road. 

“Got the name of someone we can check out. Supposed to be a low-level dealer out of a Dark Fae club called ‘ The Blue Banana’.”

“Doesn’t sound very ‘Dark’.” 

Bo shrugged. “Maybe all the ‘Redrum’s and ‘Toy Box’s were taken in the Dark Fae Phone Book?”

I slapped her jacket even as I feel my grin escaping the attempt to convey strong disapproval at the rather bad joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could use someone with strong HTML-Fu to edit this so I can EASILY drop it into the post box. It's tedious cutting and pasting from Word2003 to here. I have the whole story written, excepting a bold of inspiration striking tomorrow. You could read it all before anyone else!


	3. Delirium

\----------------------------------------------------------------

**Kenzi  
The Blue Banana**

One thing I do like about the Dark, my style fits. I mean, my style fits anywhere, but especially on that side of the tracks. And Bo, she could wear a paper sack to a Gala and fit in. I’d be jealous if I wasn’t SO vividly aware of the heinous downside. Like in my face aware. 

Every so often I question myself about that loser. And I still come up with ‘I’m glad he’s dead’. Especially after Dyson came by to give Bo some details and I lurked. Bo feels a smidgeon less shitty about that guy being dead than the rest, but it’s still a pile of guilt. 

And Dyson, great Wolf that he is, still takes the wrong tack in trying to help her feel better about it. She’s not looking for forgiveness, she needs a reason. I think that’s why she helps people, it’s not penance exactly, she just wants her life to mean something after causing so many to lose theirs. Even if she didn’t mean it, it’s still there.

Luckily I know the cure for depressing thoughts like that. 

“Shots BoBo!” I shout as we head into the thumping bass line and epilepsy-inducing lights. She takes my hand up high as the crowd melts before her as is her due. It’s hard to make a beeline look sexy. For anyone but my bestie. 

Two seats are cleared before we even make it within shouting distance of the bar, a pure goth rocker boy and his trying too hard target slide out of the way with just a smile. Goth boy receives a sneer from her even as she checks out the Faebulous leather-clad goodness. 

Six foot of polished ebony Bartender floats in quickly,her hands bejeweled with dancing shot glasses even as leather meets a seat. Just a touch as Bo is handed a shot and the others are lined up to march to their glorious death. 

We shoot them straight, smooth top-shelf vodka warming my chest and into my belly. And the others in succession, two girls intent on getting loaded. And Bo’s lingering hand on a wrist gets all we need. 

She leans into me, near a shout in my ear above the thumping noise getting me bouncing in my seat. “Dark Fae dealer’s name is Anicio. He feeds on delirium, which explains the ‘Dealer’ part I suppose. He’s got a private room above us.”

She blinks a few times as she looks to the staircase.

“What do you see?”

“Chi’s flying around like fireworks up there Kenz. A lot of it. For me to see it from here this guy must be pulling a lot or there’s more than one Fae feeding up there.”

I can feel tensing up, ready to bust some skulls as these bozos are feeding.

“Calmly Bo. As far as we know this guy is some low-level pusher. We need someone above him to get to the cook.”

She nods, hands roving her pants to check for her piece of mind. The knife under my jacket serves as mine. She puts a sappy grin on her face and, I know I’m going to hate the next thing out of her mouth. 

“Ok Kenziii! Let’s get up and party in the sky!” She leans in again, brushing my hair back to whisper in my ear. 

“Just go with it Kenz. You know I love you.”

For sure going to hate it. We are nearly to the stairs when she pins me against the guard rail, hands above my head. She doesn’t use her Fae-rays on me, but it’s pretty hard not to get turned on by heat and teeth and tongue on your neck. She kisses it lightly, again whispering ‘Sorry’. She closes here eyes briefly, letting me get rid of the spike in my aura in a small bit or privacy. I nod gently.

“Oh Bo! You know I don’t like doing that in public. And you promised you wouldn’t mark me this time out!”

“Here, let the nice man see Baby, it’s not so bad is it?” Her hands meet a well-built arm to pull his gaze to my neck as I lift my hair to expose the mark.

“Nnn No. It looks fine, Gone in a few hours. No problem.”

He’s modeling clay in her hands now, oblivious as Bo works him over to get upstairs, even asking careful questions as to the occupants. I twirl my bangs in my fingers as I watch, popping my grape bubblegum. 

He gives the nod to guy further up and both ropes are held open for us, with both guards carefully ‘watching’ us with their hands to keep the drunk girls in heels from suffering a fall. Bo stumbles as we near the top, with the second guy now getting his own dose of Happiness.

Her eyes are wide open as she takes another faltering step. I don’t like the wide eyes and blank stare. 

“What’s up?” I ask as she continues to be mesmerized. 

“It’s like a disco ball of chi up there Kenzi. All different colors and-” Her fingers make tiny movements, trying to trace the energies my human eyes can’t see.

I yank her arm, breaking her out of her mild fascination. She almost glares at me before her eyes meet mine. 

“Bo, you fed enough downstairs, right?”

Her jaw tightens as she nods and answers petulantly. 

“Yesss. I told you. And Lauren. That I would and I did. Just a few sips around the floor and bar. You know it’s like a buffet bar down there. I’m good.”

I nod sharply, linking our arms again. In fact, I know she doesn’t particularly like feeding like that. Or at all. And it’s a silly human part of her that I appreciate. I’ve seen and we’ve done enough cases that highlight just how little Fae really care about humans. She at least WANTS to value them, and one specifically. 

I shake my head, that conversation needs more participants and much more alcohol.

“Ok, lets get in here and get out.” I smooth my hands over this killer jacket I… saw fall off a truck and make sure the ceramic knuckle duster is still well hidden. 

\------------------------------------------------  
 **Bo**

**The Blue Banana**

Of course, it looks like a 70’s porno. The facial hair is different, no leisure suits, big lapels, or bell bottoms. But every person, glass, and table space is just as it would have been in the glory days. I’d spent enough time in flea bag motels with my head sideways as the cheese rolled in in it’s just barely visible way. The powder on the table is purple, the girls are all topless, and one guy is in the middle of it all looking like he’s got a hookah pipe up to Heaven. Kenzi pops her gum just as he grins our way.

“Ladies. I wasn’t expecting more company. But you’ll do. Have a seat.”

His legs spread in an obvious invitation. Kenzi just grabs a drink off the nearest waiters’ tray as I move in. Just a finger on the girl to his left and a whisper. “Hey, would you mind?”

She just sighs and nods, the leather-boi next to her slides a leg down and she’s in her lap. I’m getting a contact high just being here, but it’s under control. I say a silent thanks to Kenz, my eyes tracking her briefly as she makes her way around. She’ll know the names, occupations, debts, and sexual tastes of everyone in the room in no time.   
But we both know this is who we’re looking for.

He extends a well manicured and moisturized hand to indicate the now empty cushion beside him. I don’t know how but he’s managed to make the look work for him. Maybe it’s just nostalgia for an era I only ever saw in the movies.

He takes my extended hand in that sort of half shake that usually comes before an overly formal kiss on the knuckles. But he again surprises me with a simple bow of his head.

“Anicio, my dear. And you must be Bo, the Unaligned.”

I slide in beside him. 

“I am. I didn’t know my reputation traveled so well.”

His wavy jet black hair has just a few strands over his eyes, an effect that could either appear naturally or takes 300 dollars at a high end hair salon. Green eyes are not shy about roving but not purvy, just enough for a girls’ dress and assets to be appreciated. 

He’s lean and thin, enough so that the slate gray vest and slacks he’s wearing look good and not trying to hard. 

He nods. 

“Only in certain circles. I have an interest because… well, those with similar feeding habits generally should, shouldn’t they? To prevent misunderstanding.”

He waves his hand and a bartender moves forward. 

“A drink?”

“Sure. I’ll have a scotch on the rocks.”

I order something to sip to try and get a handle on this guy. Shooting shots doesn’t seem sophisticated enough at the moment, though I do see Kenzi flitting about knocking them back. She’s keeping her eyes open while mine are on this guy.

“You feed on delirium. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I’m not sure how that would conflict?”

I think he winced at my baldly stating his sustenance. I am investigating, not making friends.

“That’s an over implication. Like saying that you simply feed on sex. I feed on the fluctuating Chi energies of humans in altered states. Delirium, euphoria, hallucinations. Usually brought on by recreational drug use. There are other sources but these are… easier.”

“More consistent. And you can practically farm in a club like this. Make money off the drugs sold AND feed.”

“Oh, it’s not all one way. I can direct and control the effects as well. Make them more acute or lessen them. Or absorb and project them.”

This drink isn’t doing it for me. And the plush on this couch is really nice. Anicio is a little closer now. Murmuring in my ear really. His breath is soft. I try to touch that warmth but he catches my wrist, moving my hand to his knee. The wool of his pants feels amazing, my fingers want to dance in it.

“And what are you doing now? Projecting or absorbing?” I annunciate carefully. My other hand is behind me, reaching under my belt by he’s got that arm too. He’s so nice about it, placing my drink back in my hand. 

“Oh, a little of both really. The Ecstacy in your drink leave my choices wide open. Why don’t you lean back and enjoy it? I’ve been told that the couch feels wonderful on MDMA. That product is very pure.”

“What about Pixie Dust? I hear it’s pretty good too.”

“Oh yes. But it doesn’t work so well on those who feed on Chi. I wasn’t sure how a-”

CLANG! My new friend Anicio got bashed over the head with a drink tray. I giggle as I watch him blink to clear his head.

“Hey Anutso- I’ve been this high before a whole lot in my life. It was generally called Tuesday!” 

Kenzi clocked him again with a tray even as the door guys were thumping their way up. Luckily the scared party goers were headed the same way, blocking them out. 

I shake my head, trying to clear all these fluffy feelings. 

“Thanks for the save Kenz. I was looking for him to touch me, but I guess I didn’t expect to get dosed from a drink.”

“Yah, well. I got what we need from some of the patrons. All it cost me were some more hickies.”

Her hair swirls again as she checks for exits. Her neck looks like she got attacked by an entire fleet of Hoovers.

Anicio is feeling the back of his head as he tries to get back on the couch. I grab him and pull him up.

“I hate assholes who put things in a ladies drink.” I slap him, his eyes moving in to focus on me.

“Why’d you do it? Someone pay you to stall me. Or were you just trying to score points with the Morrigan?”

“No, no. I was just curious. I knew who you were, I just wanted to see if I could…”

“Uh, BoBo. Better hurry up the inquisition. The crowd’s thinning out.”

“Fine. No time to play hard to get Eurotrash.”

I flood him with it, not knowing how another Chi-feeder might defend against my power. I do feel a bit of resistance but it gets washed away by my angry pulses. 

“Where’d you get the Pixie Dust? Who’s supplying and where are they making it?”

“Of course, Mea Regina, Meus Amor.”

I shake him again as the last of the humans start heading out the door, with some very large arms herding them out. 

“English!”

I pulse him with both hands. And so he spills. I simply commit his words to memory as Kenzi starts throwing chairs at the door.

“Ok Kenz, let’s go.”

Those ceramic knuckles she’s so proud of are on her right hand as I rise. The goons are stuck climbing over themselves and the chairs. She jumps onto a table and shouts.

“Thank you, and Good Night,” punching one of the brass spigots for the fire suppression system. I flip the light switches as the spray and sudden strobes from the alarms distract the security guards. Anicio is lights out on the couch and I’m giggling as I take her hand. One Chi-powered shoulder clears the chained up exit door and we’re down the fire escape.

“Did you feed on the Mayor Of Happy Town Bo?”

“Just a little. Or a lot. I needed to make sure he didn’t follow us.”

She takes the keys to the Camaro from my hand as I wave my empty fingers. 

“Get in Ms. High Times. I’m driving.”

The tires screech as she slings us into the streets of the city while I watch the neon lights stream. 

“Pretty!”

\------------------------------------------------------


	4. Housecall, Analysis, and Consultation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Wild OC appears!  
> He's super effective!
> 
> For a picture of Lau, I suggest googling Kim Chan. Looks like The Ancient from Kung Fu:TLC but speaks like Uncle Benny from Lethal Weapon 4.

**Lauren  
Light Compound**

Despite all the chaos in the ranks of the Light, there is still plenty of work to do at the lab. I got Kenzi’s call last night but as she had said that Bo seemed alright other than some mild hallucinations brought on by Ecstasy ingestion, I advised her to let her sleep it off. 

I arrived at the Clubhouse at 9:00 after only leaving the lab at 2. It was understood that I would be off but on call. Which left me with a rather refreshing 6 hours of sleep and enough time to grab breakfast that I knew Kenzi and Bo would need if they were expected to be civil after such a night.

I used the key to let myself in, with Kenzi bouncing up off the couch like some sort of jack-in-the-box before half-heartedly waving and collapsing into a fitful rest again. They were roused a few minutes later as I followed the careful instructions Bo’s young friend had written out for me. Coffee, with this machine, required a certain style that my lab training lent itself to very well. I think it still lacked something but Kenzi pronounced it good and certainly better than any of Bo’s efforts.

I let the sweet scent of it and the warmed fruit filled crepes wake her as I set the cup and plate on the table beside her. Up the creaking stairs laden with another serving I stepped into Bo’s room. While she certainly enjoys cuddling when sleeping with me, alone she sprawls. Her limbs strewn about like she hit a landmine and tangled in the sheets. Still I am stirred by her gentle breath, my fingers moving of their own accord to brush a few strands of her hair away from her mouth.

I think it was my scent, or that of the coffee, that woke her. Her hands press her eyes as she wakes.

“Oh God, I think I’ve got scurvy from that Eurotrash ass clown,” she moans as she rolls over.

“I don’t think so Bo. Scurvy is not a communicable disease. It’s a vitamin C deficiency. British sailors were often called ‘Limey‘s‘ because limes were made part of the shipboard diets of British sailors to ward off the condition.”

One eye opens, spying the coffee beside her. The sight inspires her as she sits up, again moaning. She cocks here head, obviously considering whether or not to tease me again about my tendency to ‘educate’. 

“Hey Lauren. Have I mentioned that I love you?” Her smile, small and light after just waking up, speeds my heart. My hands again find her hair, brushing it behind her ears and skating my fingers over her cheek.

“Especially when I bring coffee. I know.” 

I reach into my pocket to give her the aspirin I know she needs along with the caffeine. 

“For the headache.”

She swallows some of her drink before eyeing the pills. 

“I don’t usually get a hangover. Not without some heavy drinking anyway. That was nothing.”

“It’s probably dehydration from the MDMA. It’s a common side effect and can even effect Fae. I’d normally proscribe against caffeine but-”

“Yeah right Doctor Lewis. Oh crepes too!”

Her hand sweeps over my arm and I can’t help but appraise the pilomotor reflex her touch provokes in me, even as I feel my skin flush. Her hand reaches my neck to sooth it and I lean into her palm. 

“So kind of you to make a house call Doctor.” Her voice is low in that way that makes my knees weak. I can only grin in response before clearing my throat.

“Mostly a business call I’m afraid. Kenzi called last night and I need to take some blood samples. She also managed to grab a sample of this ‘Pixie Dust’ that I need to analyze. But-”

I can see her shifting slightly in disappointment so I rush on.

“But, I am also here because I missed you. And I was worried Bo. Facing a Fae with those powers I just didn’t know how you two might react to each other.”

She nods, looking down to avoid my eyes in her embarrassment and grins around the bit of crepe she tore off but waits to finish chewing before replying.

“I don’t know what to tell you except I think he was trying some kind of mating display or maybe just trying to score some points with the Morrigan. I had to pulse him pretty good before he loosened up enough to tell me what I wanted to know. Got two addresses and a name me and Kenz will check out at a decent hour.”

“Ok. I’m going to go back downstairs to set up for a blood sample. Take a shower and get dressed and I’ll warm up some more of the crepes. OK?”

There’s an instant of clashing glances. I can see the desire in her eyes, her want to throw the sheets off herself and take me. And I know she sees the sudden rise in my pulse as I consider the thrill in that. But my eyes tell her something else, that it’s important for me to get samples and to get back to work. She gives a coy smile and nods.

Before punishing me for my self-control by throwing the sheet off and absolutely slinking her way to her kimono. Of course I am enraptured by her stunning backside. She laughs as I blow out a cleansing breath and gather myself. She’s halfway down the stairs before I can move.

Kenzi greets me with a smug smile.

“It sucks to be the adult, don’t it?” 

Her infectious grin catches and I match it as she bumps my hip. I brush my hair back trying to hide the flush creeping along my neck which she gracefully ignores in exchange for another crepe.

We sit in silence for a few moments as I take down some preliminary weights and measures on this Fae-enhanced cocaine. I doubt any conventional lab would be able to say more than it is a lab produced cocaine with some sort of color additive. But from what Kenzi describes, it sounds like it’s been made to activate Fae brain chemistry as well as human. I’ll find out more in the lab.

Kenzi recounts their fight at the club as we wait for Bo to finish. With coffee and crepes the usual surly morning attitude is displaced. Her exuberance is sometimes overwhelming but her story leaves me with a soaring heart. The kiss Bo lays on me on the way back up to dress leaves it racing.

“Hey Doc?”

“Yes Kenzi?” I am somewhat alarmed by her sudden shift in attitude. Her face is serious while her eyes avoid me.

“Umm. Look. I think that maybe you and me got off to a rough start. And… I’ve got some things that maybe you should know about Bo.”

My face must have shown something. She is quick to respond.

“No, nothing bad. You know I wouldn’t throw my bestie under the bus by spilling details. I don’t get myself into that. But, well, now I think maybe, as Bo’s friend, I should tell you some things I’ve seen and thought about. So I think some you and me girl time is in order.”

Now I’m really lost. Bo’s eyes narrow at us and she rushes down the stairs. 

“Everything Ok?”

Both Kenzi and I nod. 

Sure. Everything’s-”

“I was just telling the Doc about my sweet rocker stage moment as the Succusister was getting laid out by Dr. Feelgood! KaPOW!!!”

I can’t help but laugh again as her antics deflect Bo’s suspicions. She moves to the kitchen to refill her coffee and grab another crepe. 

“Ok Kenzi. How about lun-dinner today? No doubt Bo needs to speak to… the police about…” It really shouldn’t be that hard for me to say his name, especially with this being his area of responsibility. But she makes no mention of it.

“Yeah. Ok. I’ll meet you at the compound.”

Bo‘s eyes are on us again as she turns around. Still, she says nothing as I sit up. 

“Enjoy the rest of the crepes. I’ll get started on this.”

Her strawberry and Nuetella flavored kiss nearly nails me to the wall before I shake it off. Her cocky smile promises a pleasant revenge for standing her up for a morning tryst. Our hands reluctantly part as I head down the hall. I hear Kenzi’s response to our affections through the door.

“Ick! Don’t make me yack. It’s too early for that much sappy.”

\-------------------------------------------------------  
 **Lauren  
Light Compound**

It took only a few hours for me to find something unexpected in the lab results from Kenzi’s ‘Pixie Dust’ sample. I would need some police assistance of a specific nature to follow up on it. A quick name search in the Light Fae system provided the names I needed and the phone number to the one officer I knew could get me where I need to go.

“Tamsin, this is Dr. Lewis. I’m following up a lead on this new drug-”

“Yes. Yes Dyson knows. And yes, it did come from Bo. She’s searching for a Dark Fae child-”

“Ok. I need to visit a Dark Fae apothecary. I’ve been there before but since this is an official investigation rather than a medical necessity-”

“Yes, I’m at the compound. It shouldn’t take more than an hour or two.”

She obviously wasn’t happy to hear from me, but she is a cop. She’ll be here in a few minutes. And if my timetable holds there should be just enough time for us to get there, ask our questions, and get back before Kenzi shows up. Still…I decide to text.

_Kenzi. I might be a little late for out appointment. I’ve got a lead. Checking it w/ Tamsin._

_Eww. Headed to the Dark side huh._

_Yes. It’s a Dark Fae gardener we need to question._

_K. I’ll hang at the compound. Can find something to get up to._

I shake my head. 

_Don’t steal anything you’d get caught at._

_No faith in my skills Doc? Catch U later._

\-----------------------------------------------------------  
 **Lauren  
Outside the Light Compound**

_I'm outside._

The curt text is not unexpected. I have only seen Tamsin a handful of occasions and have no real reason to do so. As this is official police business and I need passage in Dark Fae territory I think it’s much more efficient. Despite the chilly reception as I near her truck her expression does not darken as I would have thought. 

“Dr. Lewis. You said this involves Lau Hu Mai, correct?”

The Valkryie’s eyes are on the road ahead but I still feel scrutinized as I answer.

“Not precisely. His is the most prominent name in Fae botany and he is only a short drive away. An extract used in this ‘Pixie Dust’ is similar to a very rare Fae derived orchid. It is an extract that has been altered significantly by sophisticated chemical processes with other Fae derived ingredients.”

She nods along smoothly, seeing the merit of my argument.

“So it’s not about him being Dark, it’s his reputation.”

“Correct. There have been developments that suggest that the Dark is also in the… is _unaware_ of how the drug is being processed.”

An impeccably sculpted eyebrow crept up at the unintentional pun even as the icy blond continued to power through downtown traffic. We quickly enter the city’s China Town district. The traditional ideograms mark it well.

Exiting the police detectives’ large truck, we are standing before a traditional courtyard and house. Trees, bushes and plants are fruitful and abundant, peeking over the high stone walls. The lacquered gate and door are guarded by what look like Foo-Dogs but on closer examination I know to be a caricature of a particular type of under-Fae used for much the same purpose.

I delay my steps, allowing Tamsin to precede me. She quirks an eyebrow again.

“It’s official police and Dark business.”

She shrugs, moving to the door to knock. Before her fist reaches the paint, the door opens, revealing a slender Asian teen in a t-shirt and jeans. He stares blankly at us before Tamsin speaks.

 

I shouldn’t be surprised. She is hundreds of years old so her eloquence in Asiatic Fae is not really remarkable. To the teen at the door, however, it appears to be too much. He stares after she spouts a few phrases.

“Um, woah. Ok. You know most of us speak English now, right? I only got the cop part. Come on in.”

We are ushered in with the boy giving a grimace. The courtyard is just as impressive as I remember, with plants I know to be extremely rare managed as decoration inside the stone and wood courtyard. We are led through slowly, giving me time to gawk again at the wonders of this garden. The inner house door opens and Daniel brings us to the foyer.

“You’re welcome any time Dr. Lewis, you know that.”

“Uhmm, Yes. I know Daniel, but this is official police business. Please ask Lau Hu Mai if he can spare us a few minutes. It’s urgent and his knowledge would be greatly appreciated.”

Despite his modern manner, Daniel cannot quite manage NOT to bow a bit as he leaves to fetch his grandfather.

Tamsin turns to me to speak. 

“Well, Dr. Lewis. You’ve been on the wrong side of the tracks as well. Who would have guessed you were such a rule-breaker before the Succubus came to town?”

“It was for medical reasons and fully vetted by both Dark and Light. I helped stop a small reoccurrence of the Fae Plague a few years ago outside the city. I was authorized to come here for the herbs I needed. Lau also helped me prepare them in my lab.”

As if summoned, the Ancient Fae appeared from behind one of the screen doors on the left of the main hall. He is short and thin, with round glasses and shining green eyes behind them. A balding head with wiry gray hair hanging below his ears. His beard and mustache are gray as well, but flowing with a distinguished look. Despite his age he moves with a silent grace, strong and sure as he invites us to sit in an adjoining room. 

Tamsin looks impatient, but her knowledge of the language leads me to expect that she will understand that certain niceties will have to be observed. We are only seated for a moment before tea is brought in, which he serves in exquisite ceramic cups. Politely we all take a small sip and contemplate it and the set itself before moving to business. 

The Valkyrie speaks first, in English this time.

“Lau Hu Mai, Dr. Lewis has found evidence that someone with great knowledge of Fae botany has been abusing it to create recreational drugs.”

His expression remains unchanged, his stony face unyielding. 

“Oh, that is too bad. I know Dr. Lewis takes great but entirely deserved pride in her analysis. How may I help?”

He turns to me sedately but I see a slight glimmer in his eye. He’s enjoying himself, playing a role for his own amusement. I play along.

It doesn’t take long for us to devolve into technical jargon that leaves Tamsin nodding off in inattention despite a valiant effort. Lau takes pity on her and barks an order to his grand-nephew Daniel.

“Nephew, please show detective Tamsin any security footage of the last month. Search our records for purchases of these herbs.”

He hands Tamsin a piece of paper as Daniel opens another door.

As she leaves I let loose the chortle I was strangling since we first sat.

“Lau, you are a very mean Fae. Really, did you have to play the whole thing?”

He quiets the boisterous laugh I remember, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Of course, she came to my door speaking her rather excellent Asiatic and embarrassed my nephew.” I remember when his Received Pronunciation English accetn used to surprise me, coming from the quintessential elderly Asian. But now it is just a part of his strange way. 

I shake my head, wiping tears from my eyes.

“She didn’t know. She was just trying to be polite.”

He laughs. “Polite my skinny wrinkled ass. She was showing off trying to remind you of you place. “ ‘Human’ ” He laughs again and I can’t help but join him.

I am glad to see my friend again. It has been too long and there has been no reason for me to risk traveling to Dark territory and antagonize the Dark further. Especially now that I am… entangled… with Bo. Thankfully I gave Kenzi a time for a few hours from now.

The time is short but productive. With the spectrographic analysis I brought, Lau believes that the extract comes from cuttings from his own stock. He had an apprentice a few decades ago who departed with some with the Ancient’s blessing. 

“He didn’t seem the sort to do this kind of work. It would be laborious for Bong Hudau. He was more interested in growing exotics than this drudgery. But a few decades can change ones’ motivation. Perhaps he got into debt or some other trouble?”

I nod thoughtfully. Lau is a nature Fae, able to alter, mature, analyze and test the properties of any plant, fungi or mineral in thousand of combinations with just a taste. His Chi can encourage growth or mutation. With the thousands of years he’s had to wield his craft, it is no wonder that he is among the Dark’s Elders. He has generally been in ‘retirement’ since the First World War, content to be a ‘simple old man puttering about in his garden.’

Bong Hudau was gifted with similar powers. It is entirely possible he came up with the process to create this Pixie Dust.

“Is there anything he would need to process it on a street level that I might be able to track?”

He leans back in thought. 

“In any straight Fae sponsored lab I’d say no. But if, as you suggest, he’s making this clandestinely, he’d need a source for a few things that you can’t pick up at the local hardware store. Or even at a commercial lab supply. I’ll give you a list, but off the top of my head I know these orchids favor sunlight filtered through a gallium arsenide filter to produce this compound most effectively. But it stunts the growth of the flowers, you’d have to process the seeds. And, of course, you know just as well as I the suppliers of the Fae enzymes and various unguents. None of them are too exotic but you might get lucky questioning them. Or your Bo may make her own luck.”

I blush at the implication even as I ignore it. 

“I understand.” 

He nods, handing me another sheet of paper. He sets aside his tea, removing a cell phone from his robes. 

“My nephew is entertaining your detective in the lounge. She’s quite a connoisseur of our liquors.”

Having bought himself some more time, Lau turns to focus on me and I suddenly feel a bit exposed.

“So, tell me about Bo.” And now his smile has some teeth as he grins.

My breath stills at his now rapt attention as I try desperately to school my expression. His grim smile as I fail is not reassuring. I stall by taking a sip of tea. He remains stock still, eyes on the prize, so I take a deep breath.

It is surprising how much comfort an old friend can give, even if he is on the ‘wrong’ side of the divide. But before that comes the terror of having to explain this mess. I suppose with 20 human lifetimes there is little that could surprise him when it comes to human and Fae relationships. So I tell him.

Our first meeting and my instant feeling of a connection. Her need for any kind of guidance in a brand new world. Her defiance and strength. My deception and fear. Her disturbing lack of education or even care for Fae culture. The triangle between Bo, Dyson, and myself where I feel I will never measure up. I surprise myself in allowing my bitter anger over Lachlan’s treatment to boil over, even as I weep for my brief reunion with Nadia and her subsequent death. Even Lachlan’s ultimate trust in me does not ease this pain in my heart over his mistreatment. And Hale isn’t doing much better. 

Out it pours, I only hope that Lau’s nephew is pouring them strong and steady for the Valkyrie. My tears would fill my cup but they flow silently. There is no pity in my friends’ eyes, their warmth only buoys my spirit as I empty my heart. 

And there is my friend, warm green eyes seeing without judgment. Never one for physical gestures of comfort his entire posture exudes caring and shelter. I always appreciated his manner with patients. And even more now. 

He writes a few notes on another piece of paper and rises. “Here is my cell phone and email addresses. As well as a pass to enter Dark territory to ‘for consultations’. It’s about time I used some of these Ancient years to throw my weight around.” 

It’s not too much of a breach in protocol, the Fae understand very well how medical professionals working across the divide save lives on both sides. But to do so for a human might be going to far. Lau seems to have shrugged it off.

As I marvel at this simple action, setting aside hundreds of years of tradition. He dismisses my shocked expression and claps his hands. A young girl enters the room with two wooden boxes. He bows slightly to her but makes no introductions. I only catch a slight look of disapproval before she vanishes without a word.

“I have some gifts for you Lauren. Some samples of my work. A few journals. And some tea along with directions to brew it. You may find it helpful to partake of the effects of the Orchid as it was originally intended to be. Or not, as you will. Your Bo may find it… appetizing.” His smile flashes to a more predatory leer for a moment before I am distracted.

Daniel ushers Tamsin in, who looks none the worse for being holed up in Lau’s bar for three hours. Here again I catch a look of displeasure as he sees the boxes Lau has given me. I can’t spare the time to puzzle it out as we are led out and my mind is already ticking over the information we have been given.

 

“Damn doc, I’ve got to come over to Chinatown more often. Good eats and smooth liquor. Don’t know why I stopped, I should remember this stuff.” I’m not too worried, three hours is not nearly enough time for a Valkyrie to get drunk. But enough to make her cheery, it seems. 

I nod dimly as she starts the truck, already devouring Lau’s journal concerning the orchid and its’ uses. Putting it together with what I’ve learned I can now say that there are two uses for the Pixie Dust.

The first, for both humans and Fae, is to simply get high. It’s mildly hallucinogenic for humans, much more so for Fae as well as giving a standard cocaine high. Contact with the uncut drug or prolonged use will kill a human but will leave Fae unaffected. 

The second use, however, is more interesting. If a Chi feeding Fae feeds on either a human or Fae high on this drug, they experience the high with far more potency.   
Humans are more vulnerable to being completely drained in the process, with their bodies hemorrhaging purple ‘blood’ from the mouth, eyes, and ears. Which is how Dyson found the bodies of the ‘overdose’ victims down near the Docks.


	5. Evidence of the Worst Kind and an Evaluation

**Lauren**

Crime Scene 

Tamsin swings us by the crime scene as I message Kenzi my apologies.

_It’s Cool, doc. I’ve found something to keep me occupied. Bo’s over there with Dyson. Just a heads-up._

I thank her and continue reading as Tamsin brings us to the crime scene. As Kenzi said, Bo is speaking with Dyson just out of sight of the rest of the police officers and I am pleased to note that there is more than a bit of daylight between them. Bo has a tendency to get into ones’ personal space but I can see her making an effort to keep some distance. It’s been hard seeing them interact and knowing that Dyson’s ability and desire to love has been returned to him. 

Shaking my head at the distraction, I move to the van the Ash has sent for me to process the scene. Bo joins me a few minutes later as I uncover the three bodies. I can feel her tense beside me at each one. 

“They’re all human Bo. Fae can OD on this Pixie Dust but they don’t bleed this way.”

“Oh…Ok.” She stutters, nodding to reassure herself. 

She kneels down beside one of the victims just as I do, on the other side. Her hand brushes over my arm as her eyes meet mine. In such a public space and scene she can be discrete but even so she makes an effort.

“Thank you Lauren. I’d really like to see you later, if you can make the time. I can bring some food by your lab if you’re caught up there.”

I brush my hair back behind an ear as I nod. 

“Yeah, I’d like that too. Message me.”

A little louder, she stands up and speaks for the gossiping masses. “Thank you, Dr. Lewis. That will certainly reassure my client.”

Dyson smiles a little at the obvious play but continues to interview the witness that called this in. Tamsin is canvassing the other buildings around for witnesses and security tapes. My initial finding indicate that these victims all have broken bones and torn muscles from thrashing about as their bodies overloaded. And yet they all have a smile frozen on their faces, beatific except for the purple tinted blood from the corners of their mouths.

\---------------------------------------------------------------  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
 **Bo  
Light Compound Lab**

I stop in at the lab in the early hours, 8pm, as I messaged earlier to ask Lauren what she would like for dinner. I know my girl, with a mystery like this, she’ll be here until she can come up with something. 

I chased a few leads while Kenzi was ‘questioning some Light Fae’. Anicio had cleared town after that crap at his club, which was good for him after he dosed my drink. A few places he had given up I crashed but found already cleared out. More disturbing evidence of Fae being held in slavery, chains and bedding left behind. I called Dyson and Tamsin to follow up on those. I wanted to wait for dark and Kenzi to finish up before hitting any others.

I take a moment to marvel at this woman. At ease in her technical environment, making a lab coat and glasses look sexy, her mind free to follow paths I can’t even imagine. She’s reading over some journals and I can see the machine near her whirring away in analysis mode. She is caught in her own world as I creep up behind her and press my lips to her neck. She moans in response, arching into my touch. 

I set her favorite Thai foods aside as I move in closer to catch the scent of her hair and kiss an ear. Just behind the desk I can see the backs of a pair of tennis shoes which are greatly contrasted by the stylish short heels Dr.Lewis is now wearing.

“Nice shoes Doctor. You spend 10 hours in this lab on those shoes? Impressive devotion to fashion there.”

I can see the heat rising in her neck. 

“Ever the detective Bo. I like the way you look at my legs in heels.” 

She teases as she turns her feet to show them off. I can’t deny the appeal. I giver her one more kiss on her neck before opening the bags of delicious steamy goodness. The journals have something that looks like Chinese writing on some pages, though most are in English. 

She tells me about her visit to her colleague on the Dark side as we eat, her careful gestures with the chop sticks occasionally punctuate her speech. I laugh at she and Lau’s joke with Tamsin. That girl really gets on my nerves sometimes. Always pushing for me to admit something about that Dark Fae in the coma. I don’t remember draining him but with everything that’s been going on I’m pretty sure it was me and Evony is looking hard to prove it.

Still, Tamsin did her job today and was the butt of a joke by my girlfriend and her friend. Good day for me.

“He’d like to see you, by the way.”

I almost choke as she slides that tidbit into the conversation. I take a drink of my bottled water to clear my throat.

“Oh. Why would he-” I start to ask warily. I can think of a lot of reasons why a Dark Fae would want to talk to me, few of them good.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. I think he’s just curious. And he hinted at some things that-”

My eyes are drawn to her again, but this time I can see streaks of green and blue gently flashing below her skin. My hands follow them, cutting Lauren off as she looks at my hands, putting her tea cup down.

Her brow scrunches up in that peculiar way I love as her brain works something over. Her eyes dart over to her cup but before my alarming thoughts burst out, she soothes me.

“Oh. I forgot about that. Lau gave me some samples of the original tea that became the perverted basis for the Pixie Dust. I assume you can see some sort of reaction in my Chi. I’ve been feeling more energetic in the last few minutes. What-”

Her voice falters as I bend into her, my nose and lips following a line from her arm to her neck, the little lights floating up through Laurens’ body. Closer in as her breath and pulse speed up I can see it now, she swallows against a suddenly dry mouth.

“Bo?,” she whispers.

 

My hand brushes over her parted lips and I look and listen. “I can see it Lauren. It’s kind of…”

I bolt upright, appalled at my behavior in public. At least until I see the blushes of an appreciative Doctor Lewis. 

“It’s ok Bo. It’s what the tea is for. It strengthens Chi and.. .flavors it, I guess. Lau gave it to me. With you in mind I expect. He called it ‘Chi Kool-Aid‘, if I recall.” 

I back up a few steps to clear my head. Her smile fades a bit but I forestall it by kissing a wrist. “It’s hard sometimes, to control myself when we’re in private. The Chi Candy vibes you’re giving off right now make me want to just-”

I stop myself, embarrassed again. I expect the demure Doctor to be hiding her eyes again. Instead she meets my gaze with her warm brown eyes, her pupils blown open and seeking. Her voice drops pitch into the warm and sticky zone as she asks.

“Just what Bo?” 

I feel like the prey as her eyes catch me. 

“Throw me over this desk? Or simply reach into my pants and-”

I growl and step another step away. I can feel that my eyes have started glowing before I close them and calm myself.

When I open them I can see that she is smiling now, pleased to have thrown the Succubus into such a state. Wisely we maintain this distance, though we could be having eye-children with all the eye-sex. I school my thoughts and expression and move to pack up my food.

“That tea isn’t dangerous is it?” I try gamely changing the subject.

She shakes her head, s l o w l y and I grind my teeth. She is really enjoying this. 

“No. In small doses it’s fine. If I were to drink enough for it to be unhealthy I’d throw it up first. But it’s nice that my friend gave it to me, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I breathily reply, shaken again by the sparks along her body as well as her own natural signals. 

“You said it gives energy as well right? You’re going to need it. And bring some sports drinks.”

I throw my jacket back on, pulling it straight to armor myself against further advances. Her hand snatches my own, pulling me in for a quick kiss, that, very briefly, I give in and take in some of her Chi. My nails dig into my palm as I let go, both us with our breath racing. I shake my finger at her in warning.

“You’re so going to get it Dr. Lewis.”

“I plan to get it. And take it as well.” She gets the parting shot as my Fae ears pick up her whisper as I exit.

Really need to go thank that Lau. Or punch him. Not sure which yet.

 

With my blood up and singing I call up Kenzi.

“It’s time. Gear up and I’ll swing by to pick you up.”

She sounded a little winded as she answered. It will take me a few minutes to get to the Clubhouse. Enough time for clothes to find their owners. 

Violence first for me, then the sex. Oh Yeah.

\----------------------------------------------------  
\----------------------------------------------------  
 **Kenzi  
Mark of Victory Nightclub **

I can see BoBo is keyed up. I know she spent some time with Dr. Hotpants and I’d normally say that they have no problem getting clinical in the Doc’s lab, I can tell that Bo didn’t get hers. So, no sex for the Succubus. And she’s looking to substitute something for it.

The screaming rock and metal in this place is not helping. I don’t even like the stuff but in sync with my bestie I’m amped. A few shouts and strategic caresses of Succupower and Bo is giving me the heads-up. I heard from Hale about the dead human kids Bo found. Looks like they’re going to get a bit of justice.

First dummy is up, a blocky linebacker type I class as Ogre. And stupid. Bo knocks him down like a bowling pin with a swift kick to the knee. I’m right behind with my chosen thunderstick-a wooden hatchet handle just behind the ear that Dyson showed me in a moment of whimsy. It won’t kill a tough Fae but will knock them unconscious.

Our target is sitting back, vaguely interested as Bo moves to the second layer of mooks. The smarter of the pair backs up to draw something out of his jacket, only for the hand to be pinned to his chest by one of Bo’s throwing knives. The other gets a back-fist followed up by an elbow/knee combo on the way down. By the time Lefty gets the knife out she’s in his face-with her head. 

I can hear the crack from 3 feet away as I survey the rest. Three this time, one on Bo’s blindside as he was covering an exit for the boss to bolt from. I grab a chair, booting a drunk and crashing it over the Shifter’s back. He stumbles and I’m on him with the Fae stun-gun to the spine. 

Bo’s smile flashes as she only spares a glance, the other two shifters moving in. The girl in target’s lap is getting anxious while he looks on as the dance starts. Apparently the DJ felt the same, the light scheme changes and the song is now a straight rock and roll tune. A lilting guitar and a thumping bass line punctuate her punches. 

And then the Bear shifter really is Thunderstruck. Bo is horizontal, bracing herself on the mook who’s ears she boxed and catching the other on the chin with both knees. She puts Dizzy down with a knife hand chop to the back of the skull as I watch for any stragglers.

She glides up the short steps as the varying flavors of slut flee the booth and the head slime continues to sip his drink. She leans in, not touching him at all, just leans in and whispers in his ear. Or maybe she is touching him, but not with her powers. I can see by his suddenly achingly straight posture that she’s got a hand on him in one way or another. The table keeping innocent eyes from something they ought not see. Let the imagination fill in a reason as to why Mr. Cool is suddenly chatty Cathy. The glint of steel I see as she gets up is certainly a clue, even as she gives a sultry backward glance and a teasing finger wave. 

We step over the bleeding and unconscious mooks with class, moving to the bar. Two shots are waiting as we reach it. We raise our glasses.

*Clink*

We shout together. “Do Dna!”

*Slam* 

All eyes on our sexy back sides as the way is cleared.

“Drop me of at the Clubhouse BoBo. I’m sure you’ve got someplace to be.”

She cuffs my head in her arm, pulling me in tight as my arms seek the warmth under her jacket. She hefts me up to leave my feet dangling but I don’t protest, not even with the kiss she leaves on the top of my head.

She fills me in on what the meathead had to say as we drive. She’s got the name of a distributor, a Dullohan named Milgram. And a place where they’re cooking this week’s batch. They’ll cook all night tomorrow and process all day and be gone in 24 hours. 

Bo and Dyson have turned up the heat and both the Light and Dark Elders have noticed the bodies. Endangering the big secret is a no-no, though they don’t give a damn about the human body count.

Bo lets me out with another hug and a kiss. 

“Say Hi to Hale for me,” she teases and peels out before I can come back with a witty remark. And pull out my phone.

“Hey, Bo just dropped me off at the Clubhouse and is looking pretty… uhmm… yeah.”

“Ok, I’ll be waiting up.”  
\------------------------------  
 **Bo  
Lau’s Compound**

Feeling beautifully at peace and entirely satiated, I am aware that there is probably a stupidly smug grin on my face left over from my visit to Lauren’s place as I get out of the Camaro. I dropped by the Clubhouse to drop of some muffins and show Kenzi some more love for her backup last night before heading over to see Laurens’ friend.

She told me that he was a Dark Fae elder and very old. A nature Fae who was a genius with plants and other things useful in Fae medicine and life. Since my only experiences with the Dark have been either threatening or painful, I’m not sure what I’m walking into.

But I don’t let that spoil my good mood. And I don’t bother to hide the very nice marks Lauren left me either. One of the few times I’m unhappy with my Succubus healing, I want to wear them but they’re already fading. I had to be much more discreet, though the inside of Lauren’s thighs will undoubtedly remind her of my love throughout the day. 

Before I can even knock, the door opens and a gangly teen peers out. He only stares mutely for a few heartbeats before moving aside. 

“You’re expected. Right this way.”

He leads without a backwards glance, though I can see his eyes searching for my reflection in every surface. Still, a good example of teenage restraint in a boy. He indicates a set of sliding wood and paper doors. I recognize the mats and the small shelf beside the door and remove my shoes before entering. He is gone by the time I stand up, quietly ghosting away. And I didn’t even feel his eyes check out my ass.

As I expected the room is laid out as a dojo. The teak wood floors are well worn and clean, no doubt from decades of use. In one corner sits an old man on a tatami attending a tea set. There is an empty cushion opposite him and I sink gracefully to it. I sit quietly as he pours the tea, I’ve seen enough movies to know the protocol here.

He hands me an exquisite ceramic bowl. I wait until he has his own. We sip together, take a breath and wait. It only takes a few drinks before I’m starting to shift in my position on the mat. His every move is made with deliberation, as though it might send an avalanche down the mountain if he is unsteady.

He sets his tea down. 

“I am Lau Hu Mai. And you are Bo Dennis, unaligned Succubus. Strong, noble , loyal. Lustful but virtuous. Also painfully naïve, self-absorbed, and either ignorant or unwilling to learn what it means to be Fae. Or to be in a relationship. So now that introductions are set aside I will speak as to why I have asked you here.”

Throttling my inner snark, I simply nod and wait. It’s a hard knot to swallow, not defending myself. By the sting I can say that he hit far too close to the mark than I am comfortable with. I’m sure he expected my usual smart mouth, but I do try to keep the Dark guessing. His eyebrow raises imperceptibly. 

“Dr. Lewis is my friend. I am sure she has related to you how we met and the plague we contained just north of the city only three years ago. In times of great strain, when the usual lines of Human and Fae, Light and Dark are set aside, there is often found a strange kinship. Such as Lauren and I formed.”

I don’t know if it is the way he moves, or something in his voice or manner. But his every motion and silence is choreographed to inspire attention. So I listen with sharp attention. Either Trick is trying too hard or is simply unsure but I don’t listen to him much unless it’s a life or death thing. 

In a rare moment of introspection I realize that I don’t listen much to Lauren either. I do hear her but much of the time I simply move on and do whatever needs to be done. My way. I make a note to revisit this thought later. In my silence Lau has taken up his tea and I mirror him. We sip and pause again.

“Lauren’s great heart is wounded Succubus. By her slavery to the Light, by the cruelty shown to her by Lachlan in keeping Nadia enthralled in her curse and his insistence that you lie about how it ended. Though she doen not blame you or herself for the Garuda’s possession of her former love, the pain of it still lingers. Even the self-sacrifice of the Last Naga Lachlan has left marks on her heart; confusion and doubt crowd out joy and love.”

Here I pause, taking a sip to consider that last. I hadn’t liked the now-dead Ash. He had thrown Lauren in a dungeon after all. But I was forced to acknowledge his true desire to look after his people. His trust in Lauren, that she could figure out a way to use his venom when the Garuda believed himself to be unstoppable. It all worked out because the most obnoxious and superior Fae was utterly confident in the abilities of his ‘slave’. I wonder if that was why he locked Lauren up, simply to keep her safe and out of the way until she was needed. Another thought for another time.

Lau continues when I return my cup to its’ seat in my hands.

“And you, of course, you wound her even as you strengthen her. Her mind knows one thing but her heart wants something else. It will be up to the both of you to make that right. I can only point out to you the pains and marks that are there. You MUST learn to communicate. Both of you. With your nature, even with my gift of the tea, you will still need to feed from Fae. Not just in the small sips you subsist on, but sexually as well. Even one Fae is not really enough. Especially if you are injured enough to require sex to heal grievous wounds. I, in my many long years, cannot recall a Succubus wanting to be so focused on one partner as you. Monogamy is a relatively new social construct in human society, and fairly rare among us long-lived Fae.”

I can’t help but speak here. My heart will not be silent and I must grit my teeth to keep a quiver out of my voice as I speak.

“I want her. Her alone. I want to be hers as much as she is mine.”

And then there is the reality, much as I hate to admit it.

“Or as much as is practical.”

“Humphh. Practicalities are rarely attended in matters of the heart. But I believe Lauren’s heart can, if allowed to heal , be up to the task. You must learn to accept who and what you are. I do not ask that you revel and lose yourself in it, but you must accept your needs and the idea that Lauren will not be able to fill all of them. And that you will not be able to fill all of her needs.”

My blank stare must have given my confusion a say as the spark in his eyes rises.

“Yes. You are not enough for her either. She requires fulfillment in areas you know little about. Primarily in her profession. You may be present and proud of her accomplishments, but she does and will need to discuss them with others in ther field. It is a need like any other and, one day soon, that need of hers will prick your jealousy as well.”

“ I honestly hadn’t thought of that. But it is…logical. One person can’t be EVERYTHING another needs.”

He nods, sipping his tea again. 

“Correct. Both of you must learn to speak of your needs, fears, and jealousies. Even, or especially WHEN, you know them to be unreasonable.”

The Ancient takes a moment to refill our cups, I breathe in the calming scent of the bitter tea, watching the minute specks swirl through the steam.

“Lauren has also spoken of another side of you, a darkness that you both fear.”

Despite not drinking at the moment, I still feel a choking knot in my throat. This Fae must be a true friend for Lauren to have been able to talk about that. We haven’t even really discussed it.

“While I cannot say for sure, I do know that your feeding habits leave your body and mind weak. Whether it is your mother or father trying to manipultate you, or simply your suppressed desires is immaterial. You have a dark side that manifests. You will find it much easier to control when you are not on a starvation level diet.”

“Your darkness, this ‘Dark Bo’ as your young human friend calls it, is a creature of pure id. It desires. And is made stronger in your denial of your basic desires. 

I assure you that Lauren is strong enough to understand your need to take nourishment, she is only inscure in that she believes you have others you might turn to and simply leave her.”

I rush to answer this awful judgment.

“No, God no. I love Lauren. She is the first person I ever believed that could love all of me. She was less afraid of me than I was. She sees strength in me that I find… I just wish I saw it.”

He is as still as a statue as he speaks again.

“And the Wolf. What does he see? What do you see in him?”

I nod, I can feel my cheeks coloring as I do.

“Dyson is strong. And loyal. He’s the first person I could ever really let go with, who could survive me. That meant a lot, but it’s his way of looking at me. He sees the predator in me and wants to run beside me. And I just… I don’t know how to give that up.”

Laruen had spoken to him about the rules. ‘No Wolf’ was rule number one. That Lauren didn’t want me to feed on any of our circle. Didn’t want to know anything about it.

“It makes me feel ashamed. That I have to hide. I don’t want to celebrate it, but I don’t want this pain in my chest from causing her pain. So I go without until it-”

“Until it literally hurts you again. It is a cycle of pain traded amongst you both. The tea may help with that, allow Lauren to be more of a help to you. I only hope that this, along with honest communication, will help you both. I have seen Lauren’s strength. I am learning yours. I believe that you can both find the balance you need, if you will work for it.”

My chin ducks as my eyes water, I breathe in the tea again as I struggle to keep tears from falling. 

“Thank you. I only hope you are right. I want you to be, very much.”

The ancient surprises me by putting his cup down and suddenly rising. I follow, tense. Mindful of the purpose of this room.

“Is this the part where you test my skills?” My hands are already half way up to a defensive stance before I see his smirk.

“No, but it the part where I speak of fighting. Something I will refer to as Chi Management.”

He had heard of me, asking around the Dark Fae about me. How I fight and why. And he’s learned a lot. Including some painful observations.

“A Succubus is a many-splendored creature. You exude an effortless grace. And then promptly forget all about it and wade into a fight with fists and metal flailing. You fight like the Wolf, who no doubt supplemented the limited training you could find in your travels. But you are not a Wolf. You are lighter, quicker. You may be as strong or stronger, but you lack the mass to absorb punishment and must then resort to.. Alternative means of healing. I will see to it that you receive training. I can also teach you to harness your Chi, a resource you have an abundance of yet you utilize for only its’ most instinctual tasks. You can be a better, smarter fighter and in the process save yourself from having to find Chi anywhere you can get it in desperation.”

The idea is nice, but I‘ve always done pretty well on my own with what I‘ve learned. Still, Lau is Laurens‘ friend and she asked me to listen and try to take his advice. If I do I can use the same tactic on her in regards to her own well-being.

“Lauren mentioned that you would like to train me. And that she would be learning some things as well.”

He nods, brushing his fine silk robes as we pace the teak floor. 

“Yes. Lauren needs to learn to listen to her body. To find balance. And, if I am successful in enticing the acting-Ash’s interest, she will be getting an assistant.”

My steps falter at the idea. I’ve often thought that my Doctor girlriend allows herself to be overworked. If she can get someone to handle basic tasks around her lab as well as look out for her eating and taking breaks, I would love to see it. I’ve tried hinting but she just hears me trying to baby-sit. Maybe babysitting from an Ancient Fae is more tolerable than it coming from a Succubus who’s more or less her own age.

We spend a few pleasant minutes speaking a bit more about training, scheduling as time permits and making determinations as to what I might start with. I find, despite my initial warniess, that I like this old Fae. 

Daniel arrives only a moment later, summoned by some unknown means. And, again, he looks at me like I kicked a puppy. I don’t puzzle over it too long, I’ve got to get to Dyson to go over the plan to raid that roving drug lab. And call Kenzi. She’s good at calming people down and looking for things that are out of place, we can use that in trying to nail these guys.


	6. Kidnapping Busted and Off the Tracks

**Lauren  
At the Clubhouse**

I step into the Clubhouse, bags of groceries in hand. I call out for Kenzi, Bo had messaged me to look out for her. She was having trouble getting in touch and assumed that her best friend was with Hale. I shook my head at the thought.

I was just putting the groceries down when I hear a phone ringing. Under the overturned coffee table I could see the screen blinking. I answered.

“Hello.”

_“Kenzi? No Lauren, why are you answering Kenzi’s phone?”_

Looking around the room I can see the signs of a fight, including a pool of blood I hope isn’t Kenzi’s. 

“She’s not here Bo. I’m at the Clubhouse and it looks like there’s been a fight. There‘s blood but I‘m pretty sure it‘s not Kenzi‘s. It‘s only getting sticky so it hasn‘t been long.”

_“Damn it. I can guess how this is going to go. I’ve got to talk to Dyson before he and the cops go crashing into the warehouse. You stay safe.”_

 

Stay safe? While she and Dyson charge a warehouse full of Dark Fae drug dealers and enforcers? I don’t even bother putting the cold groceries away as I’m heading out the door to my car and racing to the warehouse address.

\--------------------------------------------------------------  
 **Bo  
Drug Processing Warehouse **

I blow out a breath, sliding my hands through my hair and tying it back before going to talk to Dyson. He sees trouble written on my face before I get into speaking distance.

“What’s up Bo?” His confident smile normally leaves a tickle in my stomach but all that resides there now is a solid rock of apprehension.

“It’s Kenzi.”

He already knows what I’m going to say. It actually doesn’t happen that often, my reputation and the word on the street as to what I do to people who kidnap those I love works pretty well. 

“Lauren said that it hasn’t been very long since they got her. There was blood that wasn’t hers.” He gives a grim smile at that; there’s no way Kenzi goes somewhere she doesn’t want to without someone at least walking with a limp.

“Really need to talk to that girl about some training,” he mutters as we move to the map of the warehouse pinned to the hood his car.

I agree with the sentiment but now is not the time to discuss it.

“They’ll wait to give you a call, I imagine they’re trying to delay so they can get one last shipment out the door before moving on to another town.”

I nod, my head slipping into the feral place I often find Dyson and I share.

“Let’s speed things up on them. We can get in there before he’s ready and-”

“Tamsin!” he cries as the Dark Fae Valkyrie steps out of her truck. Her eyes narrow as she catches sight of me but I don’t have time to care about her opinion at the moment. I’ll let Dyson handle her as I continue to plan.

A terse conversation later and the woman is joining us in staring at the map. Her expression is put upon but she meets my eyes as we go over the plan. 

“Bo, you’re the obvious distraction. I’ll head through the back loading docks.”

He points out a side entrance, closest to the alley with the group’s cars parked in it. 

“Tamsin, you take the escape route, we’ll be flushing them that way. You can arrest Milgram.”

She nods, checking her gun and other weapons as we move. Dyson speaks to the SWAT team commander, presumably lying to him to give us the time to get in and get Kenzi out.

As we move to out positions, I ask Dyson why Tamsin didn’t suggest we just burn the place down.

“She did actually. But I pointed out that there are Dark Fae being held prisoner here as well.”

Nice to see that my read on her was accurate after all.

\---------------------------------------------  
 **Bo  
Drug Processing Warehouse **

Fae, especially Fae criminals, are not big on modern conveniences. Like radios. Sure they have cell phones and guns, but if they were in constant contact I’d have a real problem knocking enough of them out so I can sneak in relatively undetected. 

The Queen is present in my mind, she rages at having what is HERS taken. I keep a leash on that, I need my wits even as I drain these idiots. They drop like bowling pins and just as dumb when I slide up to them, a little smile and I’m already inside, their Chi streaming in to feed my strength. The rest will be harder, they are in lighted areas and in sight of one another. 

Maybe Lau was right, she seems to calm as I feed. Or maybe it’s the simplicity of what is about to occur. We will-

_“I’m Bringing Sexy Back!_

_Them Other Boys Don’t Know How to Act!”_

Dammit Kenzi! Sexy Back, really! Of course the song echoes through the warehouse like a gunshot. I only hope it isn’t just as fatal.

“Is that you Succubus?!” It’s a raspy New England accent. The Dullohan is above me and a few meters ahead in the shining lights of the warehouse

I can’t hear Dyson swear at my mistake, but I know he did. The guards are certainly distracted now. Now I stride into the light, making an effort to exude what so many have told me appears natural. A confident stride as I move and wait. My eyes flicker over to Kenzi, reading the secret code we’ve worked out for just such occasions. Her eyes and posture tell me she needs another minute or two to get out of the manacles behind her back.

“You’ve got to know I’m not here alone Milgram. The cops are outside and the Light and Dark are both after your ass for endangering the secret.”

He and several of his minions stare down at me but I am most interested in the one I believe to be Lau’s former apprentice. He is cowed, with an Ogre watching over him. 

“Human police don’t concern me. And the Light and Dark both have those willing to over look a human body count as long as a nuisance fee is paid. But one unaligned Succubus, now she just might be a problem. Hence the insurance package. The cops will want to negotiate, I’ll stall them until this batch is done and then *poof* I’m gone.”

The *poof* obviously being Fae magic. Probably something to confuse the cops or obscure the getaway cars. 

A deep growl escapes from another dark corner nearer the catwlk, then a flying sack of meat slides to a bloody stop a few feet out. The claw marks are quite prominent as are the moans of sufferring.

“Ah, you brought the boyfriend. Come on out Dyson. ”

Dyson, in his half-shifted form and silent as a ghost, leaps from the floor, one foot catching the side of a small scaffold, and leaps again to the catwalk.

Milgram looks a little unsettled as his guys move between him and the angry Wolf. 

“Looking a little less confident now Milgram. Maybe you should just let the girl go and run for it now. I’m sure you’ve got MOST of a load in the trucks already.”

And Kenzi’s free. She loves those steel toe boots of hers, and she’s not shy about their proper application. She gets the one with his hands on her shoulders first with a quick kick to the balls, then stomps on Milgram’s right foot hard enough to break toes.

He yowls but years of fighting as a mercenary leave him with reflexes beyond the norm. He grabs Kenzi and flings her off the catwalk. The Queen is furious. She bursts forth from me, sucking the Chi of two of the minions from over 20 feet away even as Milgram turns away. Dyson is leaping. He manages to snag Kenzi’s jacket, slowing her fall. It rips, leaving her to fall into one of the cooling vats. Kenzi falls straight into it, the purple concoction all but certain to contain Pixie Dust.

 

Dyson is frozen for a moment before screaming out for Tamsin. ‘Catch that son of a bitch! Alive,’ even as he is leaping down to the floor below. We both drag my friend out, anxiously cutting away her clothes and scooping the goop away from her mouth and skin. Dyson finds a fire hose and quickly turns the spray on her, desperate to wash the deadly drug away.  
\------------------------------------------------

**Tamsin  
Outside the Warehouse**

 

Like the rat he is, Milgram is running for the door. Unfortunately, as he leaves he runs into a pissed off Valkyrie. Me.

“Hello, I’m Detective Tamsin, I’ll be your arresting officer this evening.”

After I crack my knuckles impressively, I name the charges.

“Milgrim of Clan Dochest, you are charged with kidnapping of 17 Dark Fae, including 4 who have not yet passed their Age of Choosing. You are to be arrested and brought before the Morrigan. Whether you walk or crawl is entirely up to you.” 

An old Dullohan, not aged enough to slow him, just enough to give him some skill. His eyes scan the dock, seeing no backup for me. Fortunately, there is none for him either. Dyson and the Succubus must have taken care of that, though I think the scumbag must have done something awful to Bo’s pet human. And I gave him an exact count of the Fae he kept chained in the processing room. Not something even his friends will be able to cover up. At least, not if he’s in custody. If he can get away, well, maybe this can be swept under the rug with the proper application of cash. I can see the calculation in his eyes as he moves to one of the vehicles. He opens the trunk, removing a simple longsword. I smirk, loosening mine from the scabbard at my back. 

And there’s Bong Hudau, trying to scuttle away. Some cops on the Dark Side found out his family has been missing for weeks. Probably grabbed by Milgrim for leverage. Doesn’t matter much to me. The Morrigan wants him as well.

My eyes lock with his. “Please,” he mutters. “My family. I must find them.” He looks again to the open fence.

“Bong Hudau, in the name of the Morrigan I command you to stop.”

The fool continues on, now moving at a jog, trying to keep to the cover provided by the cars. I sigh, and my talon flies. My aim is true as ever, slicing both of the poor fool’s Achilles tendons’. He screams as he falls, blubbering all the while.

My talon embeds itself in the brick behind him.

“Shall we?” Milgrim asks. 

And so we do.

Unlike many Dullohan, he fights with his head attached. It’s not like there is anywhere around to stash it, he knows he’s just as dead if I defeat him. 

Like any fight with anyone of worth, the first few blows are just to measure your opponent. He’s strong and surprisingly fast. He’s been overseeing various drug enterprises for years but hasn’t let himself go soft. He’s got reach and mass over me, he’s fighting not just for his life but to avoid being tortured to death slowly before being allowed to die in the Morrigan’s dungeons.

I’m tempted to just use my power to intimidate him into submission. But no, I haven’t had much live blade work in a while. I settle in and wait as he gets serious.

A monster overhand slash with both hands, an attempt at intimidation but a powerful blow none the less. The standard block jars my arms a bit but I’ve fought stronger. He gets a bit tricky; he moves one hand forward of the pommel on the blade, and forces the blade down between my body and my sword. I break the lock by letting go with one hand but I punch at his throat with the hilt in the other. He takes a step back to avoid the blow. I close again, my shorter blade easier to work with in this close. 

He doesn’t forget his footwork, a heel stomp to the back of my thigh leaves it numb enough to freeze as he backs up. My blade catches on his withdrawal, trying to trap his wrist against my arm. He moves in again, the hilt headed for the obvious target- my head. 

Just move it a few inches and it’s behind me. He’s locked up. His left hand is already going for his knife as I step in and ram him in the gut with my knee as well as head butting him. He saw the knee coming, hurriedly breathing out to prevent losing his breath completely, even as he tried to slash my right arm. The broken nose doesn’t even slow him down. He stays in close, now trying to grapple with me. 

It is desperation that drives him. I end it quickly, punching his face with a short hammer strike with the hilt, then moving out a bit more to gain the room to slash. My sword, laid against his chest, slashes the pectorals, leaving them nerveless. He’s off balance but manages to try a swift uppercut with the knife. In close again, this time my blade punches downward, slicing his thigh and right knee tendons. He collapses in pain, clenching his jaw against a scream.

He glares at me from the ground, a look I have seen often in my years. Defiant and unrepentant, just the way I like ‘em. The blubbering and tears just wig me out.

“Well, Valkyrie. End it then.”

“I’m afraid not. The Morrigan insists I bring both of you in. Alive. And she’s really pissed at me at the moment so I’m going to do just that.”

He’s quick, trying for his jugular but I kick the knife away. His eyes close as he lies back, lost. 

I call in a van to pick us up, idly feeling the cut on my head. It’ll be gone soon enough.


	7. Cold as Ice, Smooth as Glass and Razor Sharp

**Bo  
Inside the Warehouse**

Kenzi is convulsing, mutterring and shouting in equal measure. It is all I can do to hold her still so she doesn’t hurt herself. Dyson is screaming for an ambulance as he moves in beside me to help. The police are in, fanning out.

I sense her even before I see her, as does Dyson. He’s yelling for her while I focus on Kenzi.

“Doc, over here! It’s Kenzi. She’s been exposed, practically took a bath in the stuff! She’s… she’s…”

I see it come over her, this iron curtain of logic and reason. I know she feels, mostly after the crisis, but here and now there is nothing more comforting to me than to see my love locking it all away. 

She is directing the paramedics to us, with Dyson heaving Kenzi’s pale and incoherent body onto the gurney. 

“Bo, Dyson. I need both of you.” Her clipped voice is all we need to spur us without question.

And then we move to the ambulance, with one of the paramedics starting to protest. A growl from Dyson and a finger from Doctor Lewis and one of them leaves. The other stays, presumably to follow her instructions.

She is smooth, her voice is steady as she calls for a defebrilator. The telltale beeps of a heart monitor tell me that her heart is racing. I can make little sense of it, just holding Kenzi’s hand until Lauren calls ‘Clear’ and shocks her. She calls on the paramedic to set the device for external pacing and attaches one of the pads to Kenzi’s back. 

Lauren attaches another line to a vein and hands me the plastic sack, pointing to a point above my head. I attach it wordlessly, staring at Kenzi’s now pale face.

“We’ve got a stable rhythm! Discontinue the external.”

Her hands are flying through the drawers in the ambulance before she finds the syringe she is looking for. She spares it a glance before injecting it into the bag on her side.

She’s now shouting on her phone, something that sounds like Chinese. I catch Lau’s name. She quickly puts the phone away.

She yells again, this time at Dyson. Kenzi’s eyes are open, but I only see the whites. I brush my hands on her hair. I can’t hear what she says but I do hear Dyson’s answer as he barks. 

“I’m on it Lauren.”

Dyson apparently has some trouble with something before Lauren leans into the drivers’ compartment.

“Tell Hale to quit acting like the acting Ash and start being the damned Ash!”

Her attention returns to Kenzi, with Dyson looking at his phone before speaking. 

“I’m guessing you heard that.”

Kenzi’s Chi is writhing, pulsing with ugly purple and green, her normal orange and pink ebbing against a swarming tide. I pulse her with my own Chi and the pink grows in response. The purple snaps at it angrily.

Lauren is commanding her minion again, removing the pacemaker. And she’s speaking to me.

“Bo, I need you to breath Chi into Kenzi. Just like CPR. Breath in Chi, pulse her heart with your Chi in compressions. But first-”

“Dyson! Bo needs Chi to give to Kenzi!”

The paramedic looks at Lauren strangely but she ignores him, moving aside so I can move into Dyson. I don’t spare a glance at Lauren, in this mode there is nothing she is more concerned with than Kenzi’s life. If she says get Chi from Dyson, I will.

He is more than willing. “As much as she needs Bo.” His eyes still bear flecks of the Wolf but his voice is soft and calm. I lean in, brushing his lips before drawing Chi fast and hard. He slumps for a bit before straightening. 

“Bo,” she calls and I turn away, leaving Dyson breathless as move to give Kenzi breath.

She calls a rhythm, allowing my only thought to be giving life to my friend, my sister. In between breaths I speak to Lauren about Kenzi’s Chi, the battle I see roiling inside her.

“I know. It’s a battle I hope we can help her win. Just keep breathing Chi into her Bo.  
She needs it.”

From the corner of my eye I see Kenzi’s rash pulsing purple again, the light even visible to Lauren and the paramedic. I can see the Chi battling for dominance, the pink and now blue from me pushing against the purple. But there is a lot of purple. I move to breathe again, with more urgency as I see the tendrils of purple and green growing.

\--------------------------------------------  
\--------------------------------------------  
 **Dr. Lewis  
Dark Fae Hospital**

As I had told Dyson, the ambulance was directed not to the Light compound, but to Mercy General. Though he had looked shocked at my ordering us to a Dark Fae-owned hospital he didn’t question it. When we arrived I could see that Lau was already present and that a van I presumed to be loaded with the equipment I needed from the Light Compound. Hale had accompanied it. I spared him only a few moments as Kenzi was moved to a trauma room.

I spoke to him about the overdose and the strange Chi interactions Bo had mentioned. Combined with the rash Kenzi had broken out with after her visit to the Norn, there are suggestions that I may be able to keep Kenzi alive. That she has survived a toxic exposure to the Pixie Dust is a miracle in itself, possible only due to Bo’s donation of Chi. But that cannot keep her alive indefinitely.

I need Lau. His expertise in Fae bio-pharmaceuticals is second to none. We will need it if we are to save Kenzi.

With a final nod, I move into the trauma room we have appropriated. A few doors down Lau and his nephew are preparing a lab space. Bo is standing by, looking pale and shocky.

“Dyson, see to Bo. I don’t know when I will know anything. Try to get her to rest. If you need… just do whatever you need to.”

He nods again. 

“Take care of Kenzi Doc. I know you can save her if anyone can.”

If anyone can, that is the question.  
\--------------------------------------------

12 hours, with both Lau and I working the problem, with tinctures and serums, Chi infusions and even the pure orchid extract and Kenzi is stable. For now. Now I have to tell Bo the bad news. And anyone else who might care.

She is passed out on Dyson’s chest, her normally vivacious form now looking wrung out. The Wolf is sleeping lightly, waking instantly as I approach. He has the courtesy of at least appearing to be embarrassed at allowing Bo to snuggle up to him. I wave him off and more to wake Bo.

“Bo. Bo, it’s Lauren. I have news about Kenzi.”

Where she was slowly waking, she now bolts upright.

“Kenzi, is she ok?” Her pleading eyes search mine but the mask I must wear to treat patients is firmly in place. 

“She is stable. Not awake, but not in danger for the moment.”

She nods, absently wiping at her smeared mascara and brushing her hair back. Dyson’s arm around her shoulders offers comfort. She quickly parses my words.

“For the moment. What’s going on?”

I swallow a suddenly forming lump in my throat. This is presumably why we don’t allow doctors to treat those close to them. I duck my head for a moment, clearing my throat.

“Lau and I have managed to stabilize her Chi with the pure, natural form of the Orchid extract. But ultimately, in the doses we have to use, it will poison her as surely as Pixie Dust would a human who used it too often.”

She is so strong in battle, even in love, but with Kenzi’s life in danger I can see the signs of her fear. Her nails bite into her palm, her rapidly blinking eyes holding back tears. Signs I am schooling myself against as well. Even Dyson feels something for the little thief that stole her way into our lives and hearts.

“So, what now?” Her voice is as stony as a graveyard, ready to break.

I tell her the plan. I start with Kenzi’s trip to the Norn. Her surprise at the revelation that Dyson had his love returned to him is only momentary but I imagine that they will speak of it again very soon. And _very_ loudly.

“The Norn gave Kenzi a ‘gift’ as she was leaving. Something another Fae gave her fell from a shelf and spilled on Kenzi. It was giving her a rash, which I believed to be an allergic reaction. I was treating it as such and, though medication could deal with the itching and pain, the rash remained.”

 

I tried to trim the technical details. The hours we spent identifying the type of Fae essence the Norn exposed her too, the possible effects. How they would interact with the Pixie Dust. So much we don’t know and will never have enough time to figure out. 

“So. I think we can ultimately keep Kenzi alive. But to do that I need more time. Much more than I will have, even with this treatment plan. I’ve already induced a coma to slow her system down, but now I need to do something more drastic.”

“Ok. So you’ll allow me to act as Next Of Kin?”

“Well, according to Fae Law, you are next of kin. By claiming her you are responsible for her.”

She wipes her eyes again, now leaning forward and away from Dyson. Her eyes are set, I can see it in her, the same thing I see when she goes into battle. Commitment, focus, and a desire to see it through. 

“I want to put her in stasis. In the module used for Nadia actually. I will give us enough time to come up with a treatment or even a cure. It’s the only thing I can think -”

“Do it Lauren. I trust you, if you say it’s what you need to do. Do it.”

She is looking beyond me, behind me and I remember that Hale is at the hospital as well. He had probably heard what we are saying with his Siren ears. I catch his reflection in one of the security mirrors, slinking down a wall but with a hopeful expression.

“All right, I’m going to get to it. I’ll have to get Hale to write a pass for Lau to come into the Light compound and we’ll put Kenzi in the pod. It should take about an hour. Then we’ll move out.”


	8. A Life in Limbo, A Life near it's End

**Bo  
Light Compound**

“It’s hard to see this thing operating again, this was so much a source of anguish and hope for me. But I won’t allow it to become one for you Bo.”

Lauren is staring at me with a firmness I find comforting when she is her Doctor mode and either sexy or infuriating in other times. 

“You’ve been coming in here for a sold week Bo. I’ve been where you are, right where you are right now. It doesn’t help. It won’t help you and it won’t help Kenzi. It didn’t help Nadia.”

She swallows and continues on. 

“Turns out nothing I could have done could help Nadia. You did that and it is because of you that I was able to see her again, if only for too short a while.

I won’t ever forget that. So, trust in me, my staff. You need to go do something else. You need to take care of yourself. And you need to feed. Kenzi would want you to be healthy. And so do I.”

Despite my heart saying no, my head had to agree with the Doctor’s stern ‘suggestion’. I crashed at the Clubhouse for a while, then I just needed to roam the city for a while. The Camaro found itself cruising Chinatown before I even noticed the signs. 

I parked in front of Lau’s Compound, sitting for a moment as I considered why I came here. With no answer I grabbed my jacket and headed up. Daniel met me at the door, opening it only a crack.

He gave me another look, as though he tasted something sour. 

“Do you have an appointment? Grandfather is resting. Perhaps-”

I was just about to let my reined in anger and guilt pour out onto the young idiot when his derisive speech was cut off by a stream of emphatic Asiatic. The boy’s face blanches and he steps back, bowing. He bows again as he closes the door, scurrying away with short steps as the Ancient moves to greet me with a clasping grip on my arm.

I blow out a breath, his presence calming me in some enigmatic way.

“What is his problem? Is it some Dark/Light thing?”

Lau is moving me forward as he speaks.

“No, I am afraid it is something more… basic.”

We move through a long hallway with printed silk covering the walls. There are display cases and shelves throughout, with scrolls hanging beside each one. Presumably to explain the significance of each one. There are old weapons, rusty with age, some broken or blood-stained. Others are portraits or photographs, most with the Ancient prominent in them.

Two sets of armor sit roughly in the middle of the hallway. Both feature a flower motif, though the flowers often bloom to feature a weapon. A few of them feature a snake dripping venom from its’ fangs, with two of those forming the cloak pins. 

“A gift from my previous clan Patriarch over a millennia ago. To mark the occasion of saving his life he desired to give me something to help safeguard my own that also honored the way in which I saved it.” No more explanation was forthcoming.

After the armors there are less weapons and more scrolls and portraits. A few near the far door have Lauren in them. I peer closely at those, the English translations are beside them. The last outbreak of the Fae plague and the work Lau and Lauren did in stopping it. before it could become an epidemic. Letters marked with signs of the Dark and the Light stood on opposite sides.

“So much history. Is it the history of your family?”

He stops, still as a statue as his eyes seek mine.

“In a manner of speaking. It is part of the history of my family, my Clan. It is MY history. Put together by my family to ‘honor me’. What they take pride in and what I would like to remember are sometimes far apart.” 

His hand brushes the framed photo nearest the right side of the door, an unposed and candid pic of he and Lauren. Large frothy tankards are in their hands, with ridiculous cheap party hats perched atop their heads. Lauren’s eyes are shining as she laughs widely while Lau manages to look less than proper, a smile half-checked on his weathered face. The date is just after the Plague was stopped near here, so I’m pretty sure it’s a victory party.

He nods at the picture before sliding the door open to an interior rock garden. Moving around as she had, Bo had seen a few gardens of the type before. Zen Buddhists temples featured them as points for focus on meditation. The carefully sculpted gravel and rocks were soothing. This one was further surrounded by a more living garden, though not less managed. The bushes and colorful plants pleasing to the eye and soul.

A small table was set with tea and snacks. Lau invited her to sit first with a hand but took up one of the unused cups and scooped up some of the gravel with it. She turned her head in curiosity but the old Fae simply moved on and sat down.

He served a bit of food and the tea and they both indulged in a bit. When she sat her cup aside he spoke.

“Tell me Succubus, how would you spend your last days of life? Would you pluck each one out,”

He picked up one of the rocks from his bowl.

“ hold it tightly in your fist until it finally slipped away?”

His hand opened and the stone fell back to join its’ brothers.

“Or would you rather-” He picked up the cup and cast it out, the stream of pebbles arching out to the sculpture below. To Bo’s eyes, it was impossible to tell that the stones that had been thrown were not part of the sculpture, so seamlessly had they been added to the gardens’ harmonious landscape.

Lau simply shrugged at her astonished expression, as if to say ‘I’ve lived for thousands of years, I’ve picked up a few tricks.’

Her amazement wore off as she considered Lau’s speech.

“You’re…ah…”

“Dying. Yes. My family selfishly expects me to hoard my last days like a miser and slide gently into a pleasant and serene ending without worries or cares. I would much rather do something with my remaining time. Something meaningful. Stretching my mind and knowledge to the very end to help my friend is certainly a more entertaining prospect than laying down and dying.”

Bo ducked her head in suddenly overwhelming grief and sadness. Even with her wariness to be touched, Lau shooed them away with a touch of a finger to her chin. He lifted it so she would meet his eyes and, with a flick, chided her into a small smile.

“There’s so much I should say. You’ve helped Kenzi and Lauren so much…”

He held up a piece of toast to her mouth, with a jam she hadn’t tried before. Insisting she eat it and, coincidentally, interrupting her profuse thanks. It was lemon, she’d never known there was a lemon jam.

“No one ever gets to say it all anyway. And I am helping Lauren, my friend, solve a complex and difficult problem. We are learning so much… I really wish I could explain it to you. I hope Lauren will be able to do so one day. The implications…”

He stops himself, shaking his head. 

“Well, I hope she’ll figure it out and tell you someday.”

Like a chameleon, the Ancient changed his entire manner in an instant. He is now sitting as he would on a throne, hands on the armrests of his plain chair.

“My family and Clan will follow my directions, even after I am gone. Until then, you are in need of distraction. Your training can begin now.”

He claps his hands and a nearby wall is suddenly slid away to reveal the dojo she had already seen.

Confused and emotionally flailing, what better mindset to take on some physical activity? She nods.

“All right.”

“Excellent, You can take Daniel to school on the mat while your teacher and I ‘evaluate’ you. You will find proper attire through the door on the right.”

The Succubus grins with her teeth showing, eyes like slits as Daniel enters the room and visibly swallows as his primitive brain reacts to being in the sight of a predator. And he her prey.


	9. Appointment with the Morrigan and Training

**Tamsin  
Office of the Morrigan**

Tamsin was wary as she stepped into the Morrigan’s office. Even considering that she had both pulled in the Dullohan and Lau Hu Mai’s apprentice, the Morrigan’s tempers were never easy to predict. And she had disappointed her in the past by not telling her what she wanted to hear. More and more the Valkryie could see that, while Bo had drained the Dark Fae, she was clearly not in her right mind when she had done so. Not that Evony was really interested in any ‘diminished capacity’ defense. Or in her guilt or innocence. Most likely she had simply sought some leverage to pull the powerful Succubus into her clutches.

And Tamsin had denied her that means. It had only been a few weeks since. The Morrigan was _flighty_ in her whims; it was entirely possible that she would forgive Tamsin as she had brought the fugitives in. Or that she would continue to make the detective grovel.

“Tamsin, my darling! The minions tell me you brought gifts, slightly damaged though they might be.”

Evony, the picture of beauty and vanity, strode into the room in her 4 inch heels and designer dress, intimidating her simply by being herself. It really set her teeth on edge and Evony knew it. It was difficult to make a Valkyrie afraid and the Morrigan appreciated that Tamsin would not let her opinions be colored by fear. 

“The Dullohan put up a fight with a blade and tried to off himself when he lost. The weasel Apprentice tried to run. I hate it when they try to run.”

She pouted her perfectly painted lips as she swiveled in her chair, showing off her shapely calf's and just a tasteful bit of her thigh. 

Among the Fae, with hundreds of years of experience in reading people and each other, it was a crucial skill to be able to both read subtle body language as well as obscure your own tells. Tamsin took her reputation as the Ice Princess very seriously and that was all she allowed to show. She was attracted to Evony like primitive man was attracted to fire. She kept the burns first in mind.

“Hmm. Well, a Dullohan who’s not stupid. Do you think I could use him, if he keeps his mind intact after they’re done wringing him out downstairs?”

I cock my head in thought. I‘ve been told is it almost a bird-like gesture with my slender neck. And I suppose the thought of Valkyrie wings give the idea some merit. 

“That’s a long odds bet. Depends how scarce the supply of brains is versus the chance he’ll try to knife you in the back.”

She tapped a finger on her armrest, thinking it over. 

“Well, that’s weeks away yet. How about the Apprentice?”

Tamsin moved forward to the desk but pointedly didn’t sit until Evony pointed to the chair.

“He is, of course, very useful and pliable. But if any word got out as to how he was being controlled by the Dullohan, a logical conclusion could be made that you are employing the same method.”

“Hmmm.”

The Dark Elders appreciate a certain ruthlessness in the Morrigan but continuing to put pressure on the Fae’s family to keep him in your own personal employ might be considered too opportunistic. Political calculations were not a Valkryie's forte. But she did know it could look bad for Evony.

“No. I think we’ll simply ‘strongly imply’ that leaving the county would be looked down upon. And trigger an investigation. I’ll structure something to employ him to the Dark’s benefit and make use of his skills when it suits me.”

She’s not looking for my opinion so I simply keep still. Waiting placidly is an underrated skill.

“And what about the slaves he was keeping?”

I take out my notebook, consulting my notes.

“17 Dark Fae, including 4 minors. The one girl that led to the Succubus’ stumbling on this has returned to her grateful family. I’d expect one of her brothers to be applying for a position among your personal guard in a few months. That Clan had been looking to leave the county to seek greener pastures.”

“And?”

She’s damn good at reading people, I suppose that’s how she became the Morrigan. She’s not looking for the count on the Light Fae, they’re not her concern. I had hoped to keep that bit of criticism from her notice. Now all I have to do is tell her without pissing her off. Again.

“Someone’s stopping up the works again. The family did it all the right way, and even some of the wrong way, in trying to get Dark Fae authority involved. That they didn’t can’t ALL be because this scumbag was paying off the right people.”

She looks bored, maybe I used the wrong analogy.

“We work how we work, and for Dark Fae, our system works fine.When people don’t get TOO greedy. Patronage, influence peddling, favor trading, it’s all understood. But someone in between the little people-her mother, middle management -me, and the executive branch-you, is charging too much for services rendered. And it took the Succubus to break through it. Involving the Light Fae Police in airing our dirty laundry AND reminding the little people how much they don’t matter.”

She breaths a sigh and closes her eyes for a moment before giving a nod. With centuries of experience Fae elites CAN still manage to forget that their rule depends on keeping the little people satisfied and a little afraid of them. But Evony hasn’t. At least, not in this.

She picks up a piece of paper, scrawling it with a few glyphs and her signature. She sails it over her desk to my waiting hand. 

“Take it. Blanket authorization. Crack skulls, get a little bloody but I don’t want to hear the screaming. And, since she’s _involved_ and visible on this issue, get the Succubus on it as well. Pay the family back whatever they paid her and pay the lovely Bo whatever to get her in on the follow-up.”

Knowing when I’ve been dismissed, I stand up as she turns to her phone.

“Oh, and Tamsin.”

Damn. 

I turn around slowly. Her eyes gleam and her teeth shine, her hair over her eyes just so.

“It would be _lovely_ to see you about the place once in a while.” Gods damn her all knowing grin and Gods damn me for my heart racing at her coy fucking smile. Fucking god damn sexy bitch.

Oh joy, I can come to Court again. Missing out on THAT was one of the nice things about being in the doghouse. Maybe that’ll mean my bank will suddenly ‘find’ my accounts again. Living on a Dark Fae cop’s salary sucks.

\------------------------------------

**Bo  
Lau Hu Mai’s Compound **

Three weeks. Another three weeks without Kenzi. Without her smile, her laugh, her stupid jokes, even her Robot Hookers. Which I now slaughter in her honor. I visit her every Saturday, filling the empty silence of that cold room with the moments I just know she would have laughed at during my week. 

I’ve been training at Lau’s Compound for much of the time. I eat there, occasionally shower there or at Lauren’s when she’s home. Show my face at the Dal to assure our friends that I am alive. And I feed. 

There is a nightclub about 3 blocks from the Dal that I usually avoided, it being a gay club. Lots of pretty boys, but it is fairly easy to find one a little less than gay and suggest that we continue our kisses outside. I turn them on just enough and feed until they’re dizzy. Two of those every other night, I’d call it something like drive-thru food. But it keeps me fed enough that I am starting to see the point Dr. Lewis and Lau have made about starvation leading to my Darkness.

And it’s never someone I’d really want in my bed. My own little twisted way of keeping faithful to Lauren. I doubt she notices, but then again, she spends every moment of her time in the Lab either working on a treatment for Kenzi or her actual job. Lau is keeping her healthy, making sure she is taking breaks and acting as her assistant. 

I sleep here, at the Clubhouse. Our drafty, wall-less home. 

I tell Kenzi how sneaky the old Fae is, he’s not just teaching me how to fight but how NOT to. That he’s sneaking in lessons on Fae politics, that some of my sparing partners are prominent Fae of both sides, sons of ‘nobles and men of repute’. He barely speaks to me in English anymore, learning by immersion and bruises as he calls my defenses in Asiatic as he directs my opponent. 

And all of this in his last days. He’s really living, Kenzi. I see his eyes sparkle even as I now catch his faltering steps. At least Daniel and his niece Kazue no longer look at me as something the cat drug into their perfect little compound. Their grandfather’s will is still strong and his wrath unpleasant to say the least.

The training sessions have been much longer lately, I think the Ancient is working towards something with me even as he works to cure you. I don’t think he’s sleeping at all but he appears no worse for it. I can imagine the exact phrase he will use if I ask, complete with the twinkle in his eye as he says it.

This last week he even brought me a meal. Actually two. Lithe and beautiful, skilled in fighting, and aimed as only the Ancient bastard can. The boy and girl, young yet wise as only Fae can be; I fought them as a pair, their every move calculated towards only one goal.

When I battered the boy away and found myself atop the girl, I knew. Saw it in her wide eyes, her deliberately heightened breath, the muscles and blood straining in her skin. And her pulsing, swirling Chi.

“I am for you,” she said, even as she writhed her legs and brought her arms to cross behind my head. I couldn’t stop myself at a kiss. I think the Ancient had dosed her with the Orchid and some pheromones to wear my resistance down. The boy was gone by the time she was out of her robes. 

I glared at the old man for hours after that. He only shrugged.

“Lauren told me to see to it that you fed well tonight. Stay here and we will leave in the morning to see your friend. We believe we have an answer, though you may not like it.”

We parted in silence, my mood was improved by leaps and bounds despite his treachery. 

“Enjoy my hospitality,” he called as he crept away. I was shown to an empty room by Kazue, who smiled just a bit before she closed the door behind me. The girl was there, of course. Her purple silk kimono open suggestively, only a hint of her leg and breast showed. I had been set up again. No reason not to go with it, I would already feel like crap about it tomorrow when I saw Lauren.


	10. A Bright Spot and a Fox in the Henhouse

**Bo  
The Light Compound**

Lauren is bright, humming with energy as we enter her domain. Lau goes to speak softly to her as I move to your… pod. Only the slow beep of the monitor tells me that you are sleeping, you are so still and silent.

Lauren’s staff is in full gear, preparing for something. I sit idly as she and Lau confer at a computer. One of the nurses drops a baggy of the Orchid leavings as she passes my chair, the little petals exploding into my nose and eyes. I catch a wiff of them and something else as my coughing fit ends. The nurse sheepishly brushed me off.

“Sorry about that. Just nervous I guess, with the big day.” She sets a bottled water beside my hand, flicking the condensation off with her fingers.

Lauren waves me over to her office. I follow her and Lau with the water now washing the cloying taste of those Orchids away.

I burn red at the look Lauren gives me, an appraising gaze the I just know is because Lau informed her that he ‘made sure’ I was fed well. And a small shake of her head is all I need to tell me to wait on saying anything about it. What’s going on with Kenzi is much more important. 

“Bo, “ Lau begins softly, his hand on hers. “I will speak plainly as possible. We both know that is not Dr.Lewis’ area of expertise.”

I nod and smile a bit at her as she ducks her head, acknowledging the point.

“What has happened to Kenzi, her encounter with the Norn as well as her attempted poisoning with the Pixie Dust, all of these things have…come together in a way that no one could have anticipated.”

He explains further, dipping a bit into the legend of the Norn, how no one REALLY gets what the want from her. Only a piece. 

“The Norn’s ‘gift’ to Kenzi was trying to make her Fae, a Kitsune to be exact. But at the cost of killing her slowly. If she had been using the Kitsune’s abilities it would have happened even faster, but Kenzi didn’t know that she could.”

“The Norn can do that? Just…make someone Fae?” 

Lauren answers. “Yes, she can. But always at cost, first to another Fae that has given up their powers and then to the one she gives them to.”

I can feel my heart starting to pick up as I think about that old witch. But again Lau’s calming voice interrupts my new furniture plans.

“That was what was happening. I suspect that the Norn was looking for a way to get to you, but that is not the point now. It was killing her, feeding on her Chi even though she wasn’t using the Kitsune’s powers. It would have drained her Chi until there was nothing left to drain.”

Lauren picks up as I ponder the idea.

“But the Pixie Dust, concentrated as it was in that vat, should have killed her as well. And may have just saved her. Pixie Dust kills humans both by poisoning them and by overloading their Chi. That Chi overload is incredibly potent and Kenzi got SO much  
That-”

I see the connection, the momentary thrill making me jump out of my seat. “It kick started the Norn’s curse magic. Fed into it, the excess Chi fed into the curse.”

They both stare for a moment. “Exactly, “ they echo.

I’m standing over the pod, I don’t recall moving. Staring at my friend, my little human sister I never knew I needed. 

“You can’t stop it. That’s the downside. Right. You can’t make it stop. It’s Fae or nay.”

The Kenzi-ism escapes without my notice. 

“Yes. We can continue the transformation or…”

Lauren finishes the Ancient’s sentence.

“Or simply wait. And it might be a… long wait Bo.”

Lauren knows all about waiting. If she says long-

“As long or longer than yours?” I whisper, afraid of upsetting a barely healing wound.

She has moved closer, her words almost in my ear.

“Probably longer. I can just barely see a way I might be able to do it. And Lau won’t be… you know.”

I nod, and keep nodding as silent tears flow down and slide onto the pod. I wipe them away, sniffling to hide them quickly.

“I need to speak to the acting Ash then. I think he might have some… insight.”

Dr.Lewis nods.

“We’re waiting for a final batch of the Orchid extract. It should be done by tomorrow.”

I am almost fleeing, nearly running over Dyson as I head through the door. I can only spare a quite mutter of ‘Sorry’ as I head to Hale’s office at the Dal. 

We’ve all seen it Kenz, I know you have as well. Asking you to be his ‘fake date’. The glances across the pool table. I need someone who may be just as affected by this decision as I am, someone invested in your well being as well as mine. Everyone else might just tell me what they think I want to hear. But I hope Hale will tell me what he believes you would.

I don’t know if I am strong enough to wait. I hope Hale can give me a sense of clarity. The only other person I could talk to about something like this is you. And you’re not here.

\----------------------------------------------

**Bo  
The Light Compound**

I’m staying in Lauren’s old quarters, it’s really just a bed and a few pieces of furniture now. I spoke with Hale for a while, it took a bit to break through his ‘we’re just friends, that’s all we can be’ jive. Hale is putting Lauren up in a hotel while she looks for a place outside the compound.

I thought he just might jump straight to having Kenzi be Fae. It would make it a lot easier for them to be together, in all sorts of ways. But he’s a lot wiser than he pretends. The conversation also helped remind me that Hale is in fact about 75 years old. 

He had good points, some of which included the distance Kenzi would have to put between her human family and herself. Despite their crazy Russian style, she loves some of them. And tolerates others when she needs something.

And she would be at the same disadvantage I am when it comes to Fae culture and politics. I did tell him that the Ancient is giving me a crash course which did alleviate some of his concerns. And probably giving him others; he is the Ash of the Light Fae after all. He’s much rather me learn from them and even join the Light someday. 

It was good to talk to him, though this day has strung me out. Too tired to sleep, I turn restlessly in the sheets. The door opens to reveal Lauren dragging herself in as well. She starts as she sees me, nearly dropping the bag of takeout she had brought. 

“Hi.” I sheepishly squeak. Her small smile is tired.

“Hi. I thought you had gone home. I’ve been crashing here since she got here.”

I can see her doubts floating to the surface, her defenses worn after another 16 hour day.  
I just shake my head.

“Let’s not. We have a big day tomorrow.”

She nods jerkily. Moving to get some plates. I get the silverware and we sit at the bar, the takeout Chinese still warm. It’s not really enough for us to get full but it should be enough to let us sleep.

There’s only water to drink. My hand reaches for hers across the counter, she curls her fingers around mine as we eat in silence. I really want to mention what happened at the Ancient’s compound but, somehow, she knows what I want to talk about.

“Bo, just leave it for now. It’s not a problem. That wily old man got you and me both. Let’s just sleep.” Her hand reaches about my neck and her forehead touches mine briefly as we share a breath. Her Chi briefly ignites with a flash but it is washed away by the dull grey of fatigue. I brush my lips over hers.

“You get the bathroom, I’ll rinse the plates and put them in the dishwasher.”

She nods again, brushing the corner of my mouth with her own kiss before heading off. 

Full and in bed with her warmth, sleep finds me much more easily. We rest to face the day tomorrow.

\---------------------------------

I crash to waking in a flash, the phrase ‘Fox in the henhouse’ in my ears and the scent of Orchids in my nose. My hand reflexively moves to my necklace, only to feel my calming fetish is gone. Now fully awake I am out of the sheets. Lauren murmurs a question. I sooth her, telling her to go back to sleep as I move over the cold floor.

I shed my kimono and sling my pants and shirt on in the dark as I listen. I parse the phrase over in my head but nothing stands out. I resolve to check on Kenzi anyway.

May as well since I am already awake. The guards nod as I move down the hallway. It’s a short distance between Lauren’s room and the Lab, which makes sense. There’s no reason why your captive Doctor shouldn’t live right next to her workspace.

I’m running to Kenzi before I even register what I am seeing. That nurse I saw before is standing beside Kenzi’s pod with a hand above my friends’ head. There is some kind of charm floating just below her hand, suspended between the pod and her hand by shimmering tendrils of light.

The Kitsune is wearing my stolen necklace, I note as I move to snatch the magic thing away from my friend. The Fae screams as I lunge. I make contact with ice and fire and lightening and pain and-

Blackness.


	11. A Gallery of the Mind

**Kenzi  
Inside Kenzi’s Brain**

First, there was purple. Purple everywhere. Falling into purple, the color itself. Not some purple thing. Just the color. And cold, of course. There was cold. And purple.

I thought I was dreaming for a while, but I rarely dream falling dreams and when I do I usually wake up pretty quick. But this feels like it’s been going on for a long time. It’s starting to feel like one of those Looney Tunes cartoons, where the characters start eating, playing cards, brushing their teeth and all that while falling. 

And then it goes away. It doesn’t STOP, since that would imply a very sudden stop and a lot of pain followed by, hopefully, death. No, I’m just suddenly standing. I’m in a dress, designer just by the feel of the fabric. A glass door gives me a glimpse of my reflection. And I’ve got to say, it’s certainly a Kenzi look even though I’ve never seen it before. And I don’t wear formal wear, yet if I did, this would be it.

Black and white and grey in an alternating pattern. Strapless and backless, with some cute pink ribbon laces over my hip and down to shoelace knots just above my knees. More of that from my navel all the way up to the girls rocking it in an underwire corset showing them off like they were on a shelf. The black fringe above them looks like mascara applied by Elizabeth Taylor. From the feel I’d say there is also lace in the back mirroring what’s in the front.

And some kicking kneehigh boots under the dress as well, just to stamp my style on it.

Like I said, it is a dream, so it doesn’t count. 

It’s an art gallery. I’m being ushered inside by a group of people behind me ‘oohhing’ and ‘ahhing’ over the ‘lovely pieces’ But they’re not pieces, they’re me. Pieces of me, my memories. Some along a section I mentally label ‘Step-Daddy, focus on him stepping on me’ which is all dark and smeared with blood and despair. There are bright points, my first pinch WAY back there is one, a brilliant green.

But here is the section that sends chills down my back as I see these vultures picking over the details of the best years of my life. It starts with, naturally, the day I met Bo. The elevator looks more like a cave mouth with teeth, the douche bag who assaulted me looks like a slobbering degenerate. At least until my Bo comes into the scene. My Dark Angel, her wings unseen and dipped in blood as she drains the scum dry with my smiling face uplifted as she saves me. It moves through the images, cycling again and again. There are elements I don’t remember being part of that, Bo’s jewelry is different, her necklace…

But I’m pulled from my inspection by a voice I would know anywhere. Dr.Hotpants, Lauren Lewis, is speaking to one patron about my ‘work’. Her voice is in that ‘educated’ tone that I find so irritating. She’s speaking to a group of Light Fae, traipsing through my memories like they belonged to her. But her tone gives me the shivers as she points out the ‘flaws’ in my work. My life.

Words like ‘Derivative’ and ‘Primitive’ and ‘Street Art’ make me want to throw some champagne in her face. I can’t have ‘derived’ my work from anything. These are the moments that make up ME. But my bubbly stays unspilled as I stalk the place trying to figure out what’s going on. 

Holy Hannah,there’s the Morrigan. In a slinky little black dress that doesn’t look painted on, it looks like it was glued to her skin. With glue made from children no doubt. I drift closer, keeping some of the minions between her eagle eyes and myself. Someone asks her about the purse dog in her $2000 Gucci purse.

‘Oh, this is Nate. He’s a beauty isn’t he. I got him as a favor.” I shiver again at the favor I owe the conniving bitch queen of the Dark.

Surprisingly I hear Dyson defending my ‘artistic choices’ from the tirade Lauren launched. 

“Look at them Dr. Lewis, moments of time suspended along an all-to-brief lifeline. They burn with intensity, as if she knows that they pieces will be all that’s left of her short but beautiful life.” He catches my eyes with a look that drops my heart like a rock. Sadness, even pity which he quickly hides behind admiration. It sticks in my throat to choke me, I down another glass of wine to swallow it.

Hale is here, surrounded by his family and the guards befitting his station as Acting Ash. He admires the works, but he shakes his head at each one. He simply can’t decide.

Buy them All you idiot! They all belong to you anyway. My heart is yours!

But he can’t hear me and a surge in the crowd pulls me along to another artists’ section. There are objects here, all bright and shiny. Jewels, gold bars, medallions and keepsakes. The only thing they really have in common is that they are all shiny. Some aren’t even real gold or silver, just painted chrome. But they all feel like they mean something to someone. 

Tamsin is guarding one piece, standing beside a velvet rope and keeping the lookers from getting too close. She shows no sign of knowing me but allows me to lean in just a bit to look. It’s beautiful.

A small ball, it shimmers with gold and silver light. The shimmer is reflected by a veil of quicksilver as it orbits the ball like one of the rings of Saturn. I think I can even hear it humming but I lean too close and Tamsin warns me off.

“That is the treasure of the Kitsune. It belongs to her.” She moves back into her guard position, her eagle eyes appraising each patron near the art.

Still confused, I decided to move back to my own artwork, if nothing else seeing my own memories is better than endless falling.But my return is interrupted my my savior, my BoBo.

Holding my hands wide I demand a hug but she gives only a small one in return, with one arm. Her eyes are wary, watching over my shoulder as she whispers. 

“I’ve heard some things Kenzi. There is someone coming to steal the artwork. Keep an eye out but keep youself safe my pet.”

She cuffs my head as she moves on. Seeing my friend has done little to ease my worries. Soething about the whole situation is off. I ponder it quietly as I move to an unfilled corner. I think I saw something-

And that is, of course, when the goons jump in. It looks like they slipped in dressed as the catering staff but now their faces are covered with masks in the Fox motif. They have numbers painted on, presumably to identify each other. There are too many for Hale, Bo, and Dyson to take on without getting some people hurt. The move further into the hallway to try and thin the mooks out. The Morrigan is getting special treatment, with the goons pressing her and her guards further into my corner. 

I’m left staring at my art. This piece again, where my life began really. Bo saving me. But now she turns to face me, her eyes blue, reaching for her necklace.

And it hits me, Bo is wearing two of her necklaces. But I know Lauren only left the one for her. Why would she be wearing two?

Bo is looming larger in the painting now, shouting something at me. Her hand is reaching out and, instinctively, I reach out as well. I touch the painting and, in a flash of light, there’s my BoBo. 

This hug is certainly more us, her strength lifts me effortlessly as my heart sings.

“What the hell is going on Bo? Who is that other you running around with two of your necklace? And where the hell are we?”

I can’t really give these questions the volume and emphasis they deserve with the goons now herding people away from my art. She whispers to calm me down as she moves us back to the hall with the shiny objects.

“You’re turning Fae Kenzi. With what the Norn did and the Pixie Dust… Lauren and a friend of hers kept you alive but you either go full Fae or you’re going to have to sleep for a long time. Longer than Nadia long.”

Stunned into silence, I try to grasp what she said but she continues on.

“We need to find that Kitsune and make her give up her hold on you.   
She’s trying to steal her powers back, which are keeping you alive.”

I nod jerkily.

“We need a distraction for Tamsin, she’s guarding the Treasure. And I know just the thing.”

Bo blankly stares as I move through the crowd milling about like sheep as the goons start stripping them of their valuables. Except the target, she’s the head bitch, never one of the sheep. The restless crowd moves and I reach for her purse, slipping it down her arm as the masses prevent her from turning to see me. 

I’m moving, my utilitarian yet stylish boots now proving their worth as I kick shins and step on toes to clear the way. I can hear Bo behind me placing a few judicious elbows. 

“Ok Nate. It’s time for a great escape.”

I dump the teacup Doberman onto the floor and he takes off down the hall as people cower before him. Or maybe the people with guns in the main lobby. He yips and the way is cleared as he marches imperially past the Treasure.

Tamsin’s ice blue eyes widen in disbelief.

“Nate, get back here!,” she whispers as he looks up at her for a moment.

“Sit.”

He cocks his head. 

“Sit,” she warns again with a finger.

And he marches on as she swears. She looks around at the crowd and darts after him. Only to realize her mistake a bit too late. Bo is there with a foot to trip her up. My hand closes over the Treasure and like a frame change in a movie, everyone is gone. 

Two Bo’s, Me and the Norn are all that remain. Where’s my chainsaw when I need it.?

The Bo with two necklaces screams.

“Give me back my powers! You stole them.”

“Uhuh. I didn’t even want them. And then the Norn gave them to me as a ‘gift’. I’m betting there’s a serious downside and a no return policy. I just didn’t want to-”

Bo interrupts with a touch on my shoulder. “Don’t Kenzi. We should have paid more attention. And you’re right, the Norn wanted you to get sick enough that I would make a deal with her.”

She drew herself back up after leaning into me with a hug.

“Isn’t that right you old shrew? Except it’s not quite working out how you would have liked, is it?”

The other Bo’s body fades into another, smaller one. An Asian girl with straight black hair and brown eyes, she looks about my age. 

The Norn’s haughty expression falters with Bo’s accusation. 

Bo moves towards her while avoiding the Kitsune.

“No matter what happens here witch, I just want you to know that I’m going to come see you. And I’ll be bringing a lot more than a chainsaw.” She growls at the old woman, who scowls and knocks her wooden staff on the floor. She fades away leaving only the Kitsune and us behind.

Bo stalks towards her.

“Bo, wait.”

I move closer, with Bo watching me warily. I don’t get too close but close enough to see the Kitsune’s eyes. 

“You’re right. They are yours. What did you trade them for?”

“I traded them for friends. And that Norn bitch lied. When I came back she laughed and said that I could make friends at the sorority or ‘later‘. She said I had asked for the ability to make them, not that she actually grant one. Lying bitch.”

She mutters to herself, her arms moving to a self-soothing hug. I step a bit closer.

“What’s your name? I can’t just call you ‘Hey you’.”

She sniffles as Bo looks on. Her hostile stance relaxes a bit but she is still watchful as ever. 

“Inari,” she sniffles. “Why do you care? Aren’t you dying without those powers? You’re just going to take them right?”

“I never wanted them. And I can’t deny that I’d like to live. But I won’t die without them, I’ll just have to sleep for a while.” 

“So.”

Bo is looking at me again, pleading. I shake my head. 

“No Bo. This is heavy duty playing with Fate here. The Norn doesn’t play fair, you know that.”

Inari is looking up now, her eyes wide as she hears me speak. 

“Really, you’d just give them back? After all that I’ve done?”

I nod slowly. “Well, I’m going to need something in exchange. And I need you to hang around a while with my friend. But, yes. I’m not going to pile bad karma onto myself by taking something that was stolen from you.”

I stride to Bo, who looks crestfallen.

“Shusshh, Bo.” She leans over me as I wrap my arms around her. Her hands stroke my hair. 

“It’s only 10 years Bo. You’ll still be around. Dyson, H…Hale. Even Lauren. I expect you to still be alive. And… I want you to help her.”

Now she’s angry. She’s shaking her head.

“Bo. Just think of it as another case. She’s… broken. Try to fix her.”

Inari just stares on at us.

“Look at her. She doesn’t even know what friendship is. Do it for me.”

She finally nods, wiping away her tears. 

“Anything for you Kenz. You know that.”

I stride over to the Kitsune, holding her powers in my raised hand. 

“Ok, Inari. A few rules.”

She nods,listening.

“No stealing the Kenzi’s fabulous look. Ten years from now the world will probably be just catching up to my unique look. Get your own. No stealing from my friends. And I want you around when Dr. Lewis gets me out, understand.”

The Kitsune nods again in disbelief. Her eyes are wide as she thinks it over.

“What do you want to exchange for them? It’s kind of a thing.”

“Give Bo back her necklace. It’s special to her.”

Bo moves in, the last point in our triangle. I lower my hand closer to Inari as she unclasps Lauren’s gift and holds it out to Bo. 

“One, two, three.” 

We exchange gifts and then we are, all three, shouting joy to the gods. Light streams from our mouths; Blue and Green from Bo, Green and Red from Inari, and Red and Blue from me. It swirls about the room, building into a storm of light, filling the room. Pressure builds as it crashes, taking on a weight. We are silent as it fades into a blinding white and cascades over me in a rush.

It’s warmth. And light and creamy and spicy. It’s crushing me, cradling me, it’s in awe of me, it brushes parts of me I’ve never felt before, waking cells and dreams. I’m not seeing with my eyes, but I know Bo and Inari stare in wonder. And then it is gone, they are gone and all is

White.


	12. A New Friend and Tying Up Loose Ends

**Bo  
Light Compound **

I’m blinking, the white fading from my eyes as I stare down at my friend, then realize my hand is around a wrist. Inari. She’s scared, especially now with guards and doctors rushing in in response to the alarms.

I scowl at her, then look to Kenzi’s face again as Inari swallows. I nod and point a finger at the Kitsune.

“Hand it over,” I don’t quite keep the growl out of my voice. She bends her neck without a word, unclipping my necklace. She stands still, her eyes down in subservience. The guards relax just a bit as they see the stranger back away from the patient, clearly under control.

I put my hands up, soothing the gathering masses. 

“It’s ok. Everything’s fine. Just go about your business. Just a bit of confusion.”

Lau shuffles in, his wise eyes catching Inari in their owl-like stare. She seems to sink further into herself. He whispers to the girl in Asiatic too softly for me to follow as he leads her to another room. 

Lauren has silenced the alarms, the rest of the staff moving back to their jobs monitoring the now clearly unfrozen patient.

I move again to Kenzi, hoping that she will open her eyes. I consider breathing Chi into her but Dr. Lewis is at my side before I even move. 

“No Bo. Let me run some tests first. Something is different. I don’t know what, but something.”

I nod, my head just continues to nod as I feel myself start to shudder. Her hand on my arm guides me to a corner. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? What happened? I saw a flash so I’m guessing some magic was involved.”

“Sh…She gave them up Lauren. She gave them up. She said she could wait, that she wouldn’t take something that was stolen by the Norn. It makes me so angry and so proud all at the same time.”

I try to keep myself contained, here in Lauren’s lab where she holds so much authority that she has worked hard for. Many no doubt know enough to get Lauren and I in a lot of trouble, even with Hale being the Acting Ash. I focus on breathing, with Lauren just a step away. The just proper distance to relate news about a patient.

It spills out in an incoherent mess. The whole thing, The Art Gallery, Kenzi’s memories. Inari’s powers. Even the Morrigan’s little dog that I just had to mention to get a bit of a smile out of Lauren. 

She does, though I know it is just to humor me as I speak. The rushing storm of Chi does get her attention, she looks over to Kenzi. Lau is standing near her, with Inari a few steps behind him. He’s nodding, mutterring to himself. Lauren’s hand strokes my shoulder even as she hurries over to see her friend. I take another moment to put myself together. 

And then I can’t because here comes Dyson. Full of rage at the breach in security and, not that he’ll admit it, scared for Kenzi. He wants to strike out at something and the Kitsune is a very convenient target. 

I doubt he even knows his claws are out as he lopes towards the cowering Fox Fae. I intercept him with a hand on his shoulder.He tries to brush me off but I grab hold. His Wolf eyes turn to regard the interloper and I meet its’ anger with my own blue orbs.

“Hey. It’s handled. Leave it. And reel yourself in.”

I pulse his arm as he swears gently at himself. His eyes go back, his claws recede as he regains control. His body seeks mine and it is so strong. I can’t help but lean in and take comfort in his warmth. His scent, full of life and passion, it calms me even as the feel of me in his arms calms the Wolf. Lauren is studiously ignoring us as we comfort each other.

He too gets the story, but he is unsurprised when I tell him that Kenzi refused to take the Norn’s gift at the expense of Inari.

We stand in silence for a bit before he finally rumbles.

“Trust Kenzi to stick you with a new pet and not even be around to help take care of it.”

The bark of laughter escapes before I can stuff it back, even as a few of my unshed tears leak out. He steps back, momentarily eyeing the still cringing Inari and giving me a final hug and brushing a tear away. 

He leaves much more quietly than he entered. I can see that Lau and Dr. Lewis are engaged at a computer,with a few of the other nurses and assistants looking on.

“Bo,” Lauren calls as she looks at a screen. I rush over to her, though I have no idea what they are looking at.

“It’s… It’s… I don’t know Bo. Lau?”

The Ancient’s eyes are wide with wonder as he looks on but he turns away to look at my confused expression. 

“It is completely unexpected, given what you and Inari have shared about what happened in the Dream. Your young friend is now, undoubtedly, Fae. She is processing Chi and exuding it. Our problem being that we cannot identify what type of Fae to tailor a treatment.”

Now that is something new. Lauren’s DNA database is extensive and Lau is ancient. If they don’t know something…

“What does that mean for her? Will you still have to…”

My gesture towards the Pod has Lauren shaking her head.”I don’t think so. She’s not dying anymore. She’s also not waking up. I can’t give you a reason for either. Lau and I will need to run more tests-”

She turns to find her friend, who is already making his way to the door. His shuffle is painful to watch. Lauren’s steps to him hesitantly.

“Lau? I’m going to need-”

The Ancient shakes his head. 

“No, Lauren. My friend. I am afraid that you will have to solve this mystery yourself. It is time for me to move on to another. One which haunts us all with its’ unknown wonder.”

Her hand flies to her mouth.I see the color drain from her face. She pauses at her friend’s calming touch, his hand finding her arm. She nods in understanding even as her fingers bite into her palms to keep her steady. 

I know that this is a private moment. I want to comfort her but I just know that it isn’t necessary. Or even wanted. They are longtime friends, this is not a moment to intrude on, even if it is well-meaning. But Fae senses are sharp, I can’t help but overhear their good-byes even as my ears burn. 

“How long is enough time Lauren? No one says it all.” I remember his telling me that in his garden and he gives me a small nod as he says it.

“I will make arrangements with the elders. My knowledge will be passed on and I know that you will make the best use of it I could ever hope for. My will. My Will shall make it so. And you will not be alone in receiving gifts from my house.” He is dying and yet his words seem to make the walls quake with their power. His Will.

He nods again to me, almost a bow that I am compelled to answer with a much lower one. Unlike so many times in the past, this one goes without my usual smug grin. I am truly thankful and honored. A few of the other staff members give their own acknowledgements to the Ancient Dark Fae as he exits. Inari follows him, though she looks back. I understand the gesture, she’ll be back. I believe the Ancient has some connection to her, even if it is only through the Dark.

It is my turn to give Lauren some quiet and subtle comfort. She goes back to the computer screen she had been looking at. My hand, hidden behind equipment, grasps hers. Her breath catches as she squeezes it for a moment before moving on. 

“He told me to ask Trick. Between the two of them I doubt there is much that isn’t covered concerning the Fae. For now I’ll put her in the long term ICU. I’ll let you know in a few days when you can come and try some Chi treatments.” 

“Thank you Lauren. If you need some more time, to… grieve… I understand. I know-”

She nods again, even as she brushes away tears. 

“I’ll probably take the day. Of the service. But work has always soothed me. I’ll be better off here.”

“Ok.”

The staff is already making her orders a reality, wheeling Kenzi’s bed away. With a final look I feel the sudden need to be out doing something. 

Between the Compound Gate and the short walk to my car around the corner something to do finds me. 

Tamsin. Leaning against a new truck parked next to the Camaro. She has a look about her, something besides the new clothes and shoes. She looks… settled I think. More comfortable in her skin. The new clothes don’t hurt. But it’s the same tough look, just about $500 more expensive.

“Looks like someone is back in good graces.” 

She twirls about for me, ending with a shrug and a tilt of her head.

“What can I say, the Morrigan is fickle. But a stickler for paying debts and seeing things through.”

We eye each other warily. Ever since the accusations and the attempted frame ups we’ve never really gotten along all that well. But this case proves that even the Dark has its’ own justice. And she serves it.

In return for my silent stare she looks me over. I fight the urge to adjust anything or squirm. She nods just once.

“The Morrigan just gave me carte blanche to clear this up. As far as it goes to the top. So, first things first.”

She takes a packet from her jacket pocket and tosses it to me. 

“A finders’ fee if you like. The Dark Fae know you helped find those kids. Certain expectations must be met in return for that. Money is just one of those.”

I debate throwing it back at her but, I think it might insult the Morrigan. I like to do that in person if at all possible. And Lau’s lessons in Fae etiquette seem to have sunk in as well. 

Tamsin is pleased, her smirk widens just a bit.

“There’s more where that came from. I’ve got a lead on a Dark Fae Elder up to his eyeballs in this Pixie Dust shit. You’re already involved, everyone on both sides knows it. And the Morrigan will pay.”

I grab my jacket, taking a few party favors along before sliding up to the passenger side of her shiny new wheels. 

“First, they’ll pay.Then the Morrigan.”

Wow, Tamsin has an evil laugh when she’s letting the desire for a good fight out. And I can’t say I’ve ever found a better distraction than a good fight or some screaming loud sex.


	13. Are you Tango? Am I Cash?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamsin and Bo Fighting Crime!

**Bo and Tamsin  
de la Marche Estate**

The Valkyrie and Succubus, normally so antagonistic, now move entirely in sync with one another. With a common goal and a desire to see this through to the end, Tamsin and Bo are making their way steadily through the grounds of the estates surrounding the Elder’s house. Beautiful mansions are scattered throughout an area that would be a park in any other city, but with rich Fae it’s just their domain. Cameras watch the obvious approaches. Oddly, Severin de la Marche , an old and powerful Vampire, has put security in place that wouldn’t keep someone of similar power out. For normal humans it’s impassable without the guards being alerted. But for Fae, the human security elements are easily bypassed or defeated. And the simple magical wards, while plentiful, are easily defeated by counter charms available to Tamsin.

She shakes her head again as she sprinkles a dose of powder over the third in a series of detection wards before she and the Succubus move further through the trees surrounding the mansion. Bo’s eyes question the blonde as she moves past.

“Same damn one. Just repeated. It’s like the guy just-”

The dark haired Succubus cuts her off.

“Would you rather it be harder for us to get in? We could have just knocked on the front door. We have a warrant, remember.”

The last was said with a teasing grin. They did have a warrant. But this was a Dark Fae Elder and a Vampire Lord. The Morrigan wanted minimal screaming. If she presented the other Elders with a fait accompli and ample evidence, they would go along with the idea.

If they had to call in guards and favors for it to happen, it would take months. Months in which de la Marche would distance himself from the crime and curry the favor of the other Elders. Bo had consulted Trick and he confirmed that, as with a great many disappointing things, things on the Light side would be much the same. It was very much a medieval world mindset and she would have to learn to work with it while trying to change it.

The pair were moving again, this time to the inner perimeter of the estate. The roving guards kept a sharp eye out, the lights extended to the tree line but they were shrouded so as not to shine towards the house. Nothing to interrupt the rest of the Baron’s dear guests.

When Bo had heard that the Vampire actually was a titled Baron, she had almost giggled. Tamsin had known why and only held up a finger.

“Don’t do it.” 

The Succubus only grinned harder, thinking of the Count so hard that the Valkryie caught her grin before mentally stomping the idea down hard.

The idea still brought a flicker to her face as they watched the guards roving. The dogs each pair of guards walked with were increasingly wary but could scent nothing as Tamsin cast a packet of magicked seeds onto the wind. The Fae guards looked to the overcast skies and speculated that the weather had the dogs spooked.

Bo followed the more experienced warrior as they crept up on their chosed targets. Once they took these guards out there would be a timetable on their movements. They checked in at stations across the estate and were expected to call in to the central guardhouse. 

Training and learning from Lau’s retinue had brought subtle changes in Bo’s outlook. Her use of force was both more broad and more easily weighed. She no longer hesitated to take a life if it was necessary and the decision was made in an instant. With two guards and a time crunch she didn’t need Tamsin’s assurance that they needed to be dead and sucking their Chi might be too much of a light show. 

The Valkryie’s talon flew first, catching one in the throat while her leap carried her in to cut through the dog before he could bark in alarm. The other guard was dispatched by a crossbow bolt to the throat. Bo moved quickly to finish him with only a brief moment of regret.

She did have to remind herself to make her presence ‘smaller’, a concept she had at first found to be ridiculous. Lau himself had taught her why it was necessary, unveiling his full presence in a secluded restaurant in Chinatown. The entire place stilled at once as she stared in shock. He had quickly reined it in, though the staff only shook the effect off after several minutes. He had shown Bo evidence of her own presence, more subtle with her not being aware of it. When she entered an area with a sexual charge she drew every eye in the room in only a few moments. People cleared out of her way unconsciously as she moved, they adapted to her movements in dancing until the entire floor moved with her as the sea does to the Moon. 

\--------------------------------------

 

Thinking small thoughts, she and the Valkyrie moved on to the oversized mansion on the grounds. The estate was imposing, with right angles everywhere. From the window frames to the bushes and flowerbeds, it was a monument to the Victorian ideals that had prevailed at the time of it’s construction.

Gliding silently on the manicured lawn the pair were startled by an intense floodlight snapping on, framing them in its’ harsh light. With a sudden shout Tamsin put it out with a thrown talon while Bo drew the katana Lau had had refurbished and improved.

It was odd what the mind focused on when in the midst of a fight for survival. Her own experiences had taught her that she did little thinking in the moment of a fight; she remained a creature of instinct and emotion. That Lau had nurtured this had been surprising, with most martial arts speaking of separating emotion and the conflict.

He and the trainers he had brought to his home had taught that emotion was the heart of her skills and that she should feel them without letting them drive her to make irrational decisions. It was and would continue to be a difficult thing for her to practice. But in this moment it proved to be of great use.

She considered how Lau had been quite surprised by the blade she carried, especially after she had told him that Kenzi had found it in a pawn shop. He had almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow, the equal to a shout of ‘Eureka’ in anyone else. Bo thought he also might have muttered something in Asiatic Fae about Fate and Kenzi.

The blade was the work of a skilled craftsman and had been used in lethal combat against other swordsmen. The blade guard and hilt that had been placed on this blade were not at all of the same construction or craftsmanship. They had probably been put together as an officers sword in WWII and taken as a war prize. Lau had seen to it that the inferior parts were replaced and the entire sword reworked to match. He had not had the blade worked with magic, instead leaving it as it was. A pure testament to the work of craftsman. He had remarked that the katana itself had been invented entirely by humans. The masks of the samurai had been an attempt to provide men with as fearsome a presence as the Fae on the battlefield and had, for the most part, succeeded.

These thoughts were in the forefront of her mind as the sword flashed through the first of many house guards. A right hand fell to the ground, followed by a head swept off a neck in the same movement. Tamsin screamed her battlecry as her own longsword thrust and cut. The pair ran to find a more enclosed area, with the guards and now Fae vassals began to make their way into the courtyard that they had been trapped in.

The pair were a whirlwind of steel and savagery. The harrowing laugh of the Valkyrie grew even as the limbs and bodies bled the green grass red. A break in the fighting allowed Bo a moment to see the fear in their opponents. Despite their numbers the men and Fae circling them were reluctant to close on the pair. Wolf shifters snarled and yipped encouragement to one another, preparing for a charge while Berserkers began to close the circle.

“Enough,” a powerful voice echoed. There was power behind the words, magic as the humans who had fought without regard for their lives fell back. They bent to the will behind the words, Bo now noticing the lack of light behind the darkened windows of their listless gazes.

The remaining Fae parted, most holding wounds or shattered limbs as they shambled away. Their master strode regally forward.

He did not look like a powerful Fae. He was… pretty. Like an artist model for a sculpture, his features were striking but not imposing on the viewer. A small nose, large eyes with delicately long eyelashes which framed shining green eyes, and thin lips which just barely displayed his sharp incisors when he smiled as he was now. 

His people parted for him before they even saw his path. He stopped within a few feet of the pair as they stared warily. With a tiny flick of his hand the guards and soldiers backed further away. Tamsin relaxed just a touch and Bo did as well, her hands still cradling the razor-sharp katana but moving to the less intensive low guard position.

The Valkryie spoke first, calmly and with some authority.

“Severin de la Marche, you are to present yourself before the Morrigan forthwith to answer charges-”

He shook his head, dark curls floating along just once. 

“If it were that easy the Morrigan would not have sent you in the middle of the night. I expect that this is a fact-finding venture. That she instructed you to find evidence of my complicity in the matters which the Succubus brought to her attention.”

His eyes indulged in a natural curiosity, taking in the Succubus who had inspired so much gossip recently. It was a very penetrating gaze but by no means was it predatory. Bo felt seen but not marked in any way. It still gave her a shiver, which then inspired a minutely raised brow in their… host.

She answered with a smirk of her own.

“Maybe she just sent us to get it done quickly. I understand that bringing an Elder to face justice is very time consuming.”

He tossed his head back and forth, weighing the idea as he walked a small circle in front of them. The blood on the grass was licking the edges of his white linen pants as well as his bare feet but the Vampire took no notice.

“Yes, it is. And I have no doubt that Evony wished this to be resolved quickly and with little involvement of the Elders. If I were proved guilty with evidence uncovered by the pair of you I am sure that the Elders would accept any verdict short of Death she would impose. A trial by the Elders themselves would take a great deal of time and would, almost invariably, not provide the _justice_ she needs to have seen being applied.”

Bo could see Tamsin tense again at the statement, which she took to mean that it was certainly true. Political favors and deals were not just the way things were done among the Dark Fae; they were the accepted norm. Evony apparently wanted to do something to damage that image and Bo swore inwardly at the idea of enabling the conniving bitch.

“I am afraid I will have to insist on a trial by the Elders.” He was almost apologetic though Bo could sense the amusement as he held his empty hands open.

Another wave of his hand and the circle of flesh was once again seen. Bo and Tamsin readied themselves to fight , with Bo ready to pounce on the Vampire Lord. She moved the katana into a high guard, only to suddenly feel a bit drowsy. 

He turned towards them again, touching his pursed lips as his turning revealed a small woman. She was whistling, the air between them shimmering with waves of sound. Tamsin struggled, fighting off the Siren’s power and readying her Talon. Bo saw Severin move in a series of still images as he blurred, snatching the deadly blade away as the Valkyrie fell into his arms and then slumped to the ground.

The Succubus fought another way, growling with her eyes blue as she focused on the Siren, willing the Fae’s Chi to join with her own. The whistle faltered as the wisp of energy floated free. She saw genuine surprise on the Vampire’s face, amazed at the distance she could draw Chi from. But he acted swiftly, simply cupping her jaw and turning it away from his servant. 

Her whistle sounded again, only after Bo’s forehead cracked into her Lord’s perfect button nose. She saw him wipe away a small stream of blood as she too faded into oblivion. He held an amused grin as he rubbed the blood between his fingers.

“I am sorry, but I think you and the Valkyrie will have to be my guests for at least a week or two. Nothing too onerous, I should think. I may have seek out some…”

Bo lost the rest of his words as her eyes closed and she was lost to sleep.


	14. Fancy Dress for the Ball

**Bo and Tamsin  
de la Marche Estate**

“Fuck no.” 

Words Bo had woken up to a few times, usually uttered by herself. To be woken up BY them was a somewhat new experience. She blinked a few more times, shaking her head as she opened her eyes. 

Tamsin was a few feet away, standing as she paced the finely furnished room. The Valkyrie was looking over a dress, creamy white with gray accents and perfectly in her size.

Bo sat up, catching her attention.

“Look at this shit. A fucking dress. I don’t do dresses.” She held up the offending garment so her companion could get a good look shaking it out in her disbelief and anger. It was pretty, but as Tamsin had said, it was certainly not what she could see the warrior wearing. 

The Succubus stood up in a single motion, sweeping the sheets off. She was in her underwear, with none of the aches and pains she expected to have after the fight she and Tamsin had had. The other woman didn’t have a mark on her either, and she was also clad in her underwear. 

Bo shook her head as she moved to the adjoining bathroom, looking in the hamper at the off chance that their clothes were inside. No such luck. Finishing her business, she returned to the room.

She and Tamsin had been laid in twin beds in the room. It was, as she had noticed before, well furnished with elegance and a subtle style. Each piece looked like it might be at home in an antique collection but they showed signs of occasional use. There were no windows and the only door looked very sturdy. 

The Valkyrie noted her sweep of the room.

“I tried it. Locked, of course. And no weapons or things that could be used as weapons. And the only clothes are… these.”

Two wardrobes, both opened. Tamsin had tossed one, strewing the clothes about the room in, Bo presumed, frustration. The other had some articles of clothing out, but only a few. 

“Those are sized for you. Not a piece of leather in sight.”

Bo answered with a snaky grin.

“Well, I’ve been kept in worse cells. And with worse clothes.”

The Succubus shrugged as she moved to the bathroom, intent on making use of the shower. Tamsin stared after her, mouth open in disbelief as she followed. She absently continued dragging the evening dress , it’s fine fabric whispering along the floor.

“What the fuck are you doing?,” she finally squealed.

Ever the temptress she was born to be, Bo replied over her shoulder as she removed her underwear.

“Getting in the shower, obviously. If I must go to a party, I’m going to go in style. And clean.”

Slinking away, she left the Valkryie with a hanging jaw which she shut with a resounding click. The Succubus missed the frustrated growl over the noise of the 12 nozzle shower. 

\---------------------------------------------  
With her natural beauty, Bo’s makeup generally involved only an application of mascara. And with Tamsin’s lack of giving a fuck as she put it, the pair were dressed in under an hour. Slipping into the high-heels Bo spoke to the Tamsin as she finished putting her hair up in her own utilitarian style.

“I thought Vampires were sort of a joke? I mean Sigfried was…”

The Valkryie shook her head as she pinned. 

“Sigfried is what happens when a vampire no longer hunts for his food. It happens to most of them as the ages go by. They sort of cycle in periods of not caring, or being angst ridden tools, or trying to be as ‘human’ as they can. And with the availability of human blood without having to seduce or kill for it, it’s made it so much easier for them to become lazy.”

Bo nodded as she paced, thinking things out with her… co-belligerent.

“And de la Marche. It’s like ‘caged tiger versus wild tiger’.”

The Valkyrie stepped out, also slipping into her heels. The pair moved to a full length mirror, observing the effect the clothes had. While not their normal fare, each still suited their coloring and body shape to a tee. And they were perfectly tailored. 

“Pretty close. Only this tiger likes to play with his food. As old as he is, he doesn’t need to feed often. He does it for the pleasure and the power as much as for a simple feed.”

Bo nodded crisply. 

“So, we’re the main course.”

Tamsin’s ice blue eyes shone like steel even as she smoothed the beautiful fabric so elegantly wrapped around her. 

“Well, maybe you. But I intend to rip the bloodsuckers teeth out and scrape his eyeballs out with them.”

The polite knock on the door only served to highlight the moment. The pair glided to it, where it opened before they could even reach the door knob. Their visitor stepped quickly inside with the pair frozen in shock. 

The next to enter was a tuxedoed guard who met their eyes with his own, dull gaze. He spoke with a voice that seemed distant, as though it was not coming from him.

“The Baron extends an invitation to his table.” 

The pair smoothed over their finery, their previous visitor having already disappeared with none the wiser. 

“Well then, lead on. We wouldn’t want to keep our host waiting.”

The two nodded to one another, assuming a stately pace behind the enthralled human. 

\------------------------------------

The Baron stood in the next hallway, his lithe form bent forward to breathe in the scent of a floral arrangement. His springy black locks obscured his eyes for a moment before he stood upright to take in the appearance of his guests.

His servant had already departed, leaving him alone to escort Bo and Tamsin. He stepped with effortless grace, almost a dance with every step forward. 

“Ladies, please allow me to give you a small tour of my home. I do not often receive visitors in the private residence.”

Bo could see that Tamsin was still quietly seething and had no doubt that the Vampire could as well. She spoke for the both of them, readily agreeing to a tour. Mementos of a very long life, conquests and accolades which de la Marche obviously felt should be awe-inspiring to a young Fae only left her cold. She had seen more joy in a few feet of Lau’s hallway than the football fields’ length of personal history shown here. Still, she nodded appropriately, her gasps and wonderment applied like a cheap lacquer that he could easily discern. Tamsin kept her cool Valkryie detachment, though she did linger over a few battlefield trophies. Bo thought that she had possibly been at several of those slaughters, picking over the dead to take to the halls of Valhalla. 

“Your home is magnificent. And it’s security is certainly easy to underestimate.”

Bo’s eyes pinned Tamsin’s gaze as she spoke. The warrior simply shrugged.

“Yes. The sigils. A simple design with a feature I added myself; They are laid in a sort of magical circuit, allowing security to quickly ascertain where a breach has been formed. I based it on the ideas of Nikola Tesla relating magic to electrical circuits. It has proven to be a useful innovation.”

Both Bo and Tamsin nodded politely. The Succubus vaguely remembered something about an early electrical pioneer, the picture of a mad scientist.

“We also noticed some of the more interesting security elements. From the outside your home looks like an easy target, but once inside, any room or door can be locked from the control room.” Tamsin spoke as she caressed a worn set of crossed spears bolted to the wall.

The Vampire nodded his head to the point as he opened the door to the main dining room. 

“Yes. I have often found that dealing with intruders myself leads to less… confusion among other Fae as to what can happen.”

The three moved on to the table, set in high style with candles throughout. The long table was set for the small party, though it could easily seat a hundred guests along the length of the polished maple. A few servants in livery were stationed at the doors with wheeled serving trays at the ready.

Tamsin saw a slight hitch in de la Marche’s step as he considered her words. The ever so small tic in his shoulder as he tried to think of just HOW his guest could know something so intimate about his security arrangements. 

The air snapped as he turned his head to regard them. He was moving at an imperceptible speed, only to be brought up short by bared steel as the pair met him with drawn blades. For just a moment his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in surprise but his long years served him well, he hid it quickly.

But not quickly enough as both the Succubus and the Valkyrie raised an eyebrow and gave a small grin. 

“We had an unexpected visit from a friend. She dropped of a few gifts to help us dress for the party. Hope you don’t mind if we cut the gloating portion of the evening short. We have business to attend to.”

As if on cue, the lights of the dining room came on, fully illuminating the area. The servants stood solidly at attention, the faint scent of a paralyzing agent about them. The locks of each door engaged in succession, locking the room from any outside interference.

The Baron growled, his jaw clenching at the thought of this invasion. Bo watched as the Vampire changed from his beautiful form to a far more deadly one. His fangs and claws grew monstrous as his muscles swelled with power. His shoulders hunched as his neck lengthened; his jaw jutted out, forming more of a muzzle. But his eyes remained the same warm amber as before, almost hypnotizing in their beauty.

His voice, where it had been melodious now only spoke with a guttural growl.

“You’ll never leave these grounds alive. And then I’ll hunt down every friend you have, everyone who even knows your name. The Wolf, your human pets, every client you ever helped. I’ll split them open and drink them from the inside out.”

He struck as he spoke the last words, with Bo already moving the blade into a block. Claws were repulsed by the clean and shining steel and Tamsin flashed into a lunge which the Vampire twisted away from with a growl. The pair closed on the monster, intent on keeping him close.

Valkyrie and Succubus danced as though they had tangoed for years, aided by the sharing of Chi when their visitor had armed them. Inside the Succubus the voices of a thousand fallen warriors roared, compelling her to fight and move just so as the Valkyrie moved here. She could see how de la Marche looked for openings to use his frightening speed only to find a blade intersecting his path. Reluctant to take wounds from the steel in the blades and obviously used to fighting in dark and enclosed spaces, he was frustrated. 

He shook his head, flicking a bit of blood of his claws from a successful strike to Bo’s shoulder. He stepped back again, flashing forward before Tamsin could follow. He caught the Valkyrie with a long slash from her left shoulder almost to her right hip. Though it was a shallow cut, it bled profusely. The stoic warrior made only a hiss as she drove the hilt of her blade into the side of the Vampires’ head.

Bo followed up with a piercing thrust towards his chest but a shift caused the blade to glance off a rib instead. She continued with her momentum, passing the Vampire and catching him with a well-placed elbow to the jaw. He stumbled back, catching Tamsin’s sweeping overhand with his left forearm, leaving a deep cut down to Fae toughened bone but not a more serious wound to the neck or chest. 

To Bo the combatants seemed to freeze for a moment. She watched as Tamsin’s eyes sank to a close, puzzling over it before her sword moved seemingly of its’ own volition. Whethher to avoid the monster’s gaze or simply to avoid showing Bo’s reflection in her orbs, the Succubus had no time to puzzle it out. The sliver of hesitation it brought to the Vampire was used to great effect.

Bo drew the cut from the shoulder and down the back, rending supporting muscles there and causing her opponent to shout a pained roar as he blindly swept his claws around. She had anticipated the powerful but reckless move crouching under the right hand claws and driving the hilt of the katana down into the left knee.

It shattered with a disturbing crunch but the Vampire remained standing. It was Tamsin’s horizontal slice to the back of both thighs that brought him down, the tendons parting under the longsword’s blade. Bo could see the knee knitting itself even as de la Marche fell, a knee strike to his nose hastening his fall. A final long heel kick to the side of the head threw the menace into unconsciousness. 

Not trusting even those blows to keeping the powerful Fae down, Bo mounted him, giving a warning glance to Tamsin who was moving to simply finish him off by removing his head. Instead the Succubus used her talents, a strong stream of Chi energy flowing from the Vampire to her mouth held over his. She fed until his pale skin was almost translucent, the color even fleeing from his lips. His breath was shallow but still present as she bounced up, her eyes glowing blue and her face shining with satisfaction.

Tamsin whispered. “ _Eyes of Brown and Blue._ ”

Bo blinked in confusion, the shining blue dimming to a dull glow.

“What?”

The Valkyrie shook her head. 

“Nothing. Lets get him out of here. No matter what our friend did in the security control room, someone’s going to come looking for this guy soon.”

“Right. You ok? I can… you know… share.” Bo questioned as she took in the slashes bleeding through the expensive fabric of the warrior’s dress. She tore a piece of the tablecloth off to bind the wound.

“I’m fine. Let’s just get him out of here. She said she’d find be in the garage right?”

Bo nodded, already moving.


	15. Break Out, Break Down, Break Through

**Bo and Tamsin  
de la Marche Estate**

Kenzi had been a surprise, but more so the plan she had come up with. It wasn’t enough to just get them out but the human had managed to consider how to accomplish their original goal as well. A link to a website owned by one of her many cousins had directed Kenzi how to use the prepackaged hacking scripts on the site to find any information she was looking for. A quick search had led to verifiable shipping orders linking the Vampire to the purchase of base chemicals, property, and even orders to ‘procure’ young Fae to process the drug. The last would be the most damning in the eyes of the Elders, giving Evony the leeway to determine the appropriate punishment.

That the security break had also led to some less protected bank accounts was just icing on the cake to the young woman, though her shoe closet would thank her later.

Bo had the Vampire over her shoulder as the pair ran to the garage. Though they passed several servants, their long enthrallment left them with little ability to think for themselves while their master was incapacitated . The few Fae they came across fared little better, with Tamsin’s blood up none stood before her sword. 

The Siren alone had Bo worried but that concern was dealt with when the woman in question exited a door too close to the Succubus to avoid her. It took only a touch for the woman to succumb, as amped up as Bo was she found it easy to compel the Dark Fae into a sexual stupor slumping dreamily on the floor.

Alarms sounded as the pair made it to the garage. Kenzi sat at the wheel of a Land Rover, engine running. The Valkyrie paused only long enough to pick up two long guns from a locked cabinet she hacked open. She loaded both then tossed one to the Succubus after she stuffed the Vampire in. 

Kenzi had the package trussed up like a Christmas turkey before their butts hit the seats, multiple bands of steel reinforced cable ties tying his limbs together and his head firmly bound to his knees.

“Uh, Tamsin…”

From the back she could see Bo eying the weapon suspiciously. 

“Point the shooty end at the bad guys and pull the trigger. We want to keep them from getting in our way. This beast can run over anything we’ve seen on the grounds. Besides, I’ll-”

She stood up in the back of the vehicle, opening a hatch on the roof. “I’ll be up here to pick off anyone that tries to get clever.”

Bo nodded at the short instructions. 

“Ok Kenz, get us the hell out of here.”

With a grin the short girl gave a ferocious laugh and rammed the truck through the garage door, scattering the guards that had gathered in front of it. Sparks flew as guards fired hastily at the armored truck, blinded by the spotlight Tamsin had turned on even as she returned fire from above. 

Understanding the situation perfectly well, the driver swerved and dipped every which way, running over statuary and bushes but always making forward progress to the gate. The guards inside the station had already been killed by Tamsin’s expertly placed shots, leaving them and anyone else unable to trigger the anti-ramming features built into the driveway.

Kenzi drove straight through the gatehouse, the powerful Land Rover’s engine driving it’s mass through it like a nail through pasteboard. They were through, the undercarriage sparked on the asphalt as the tires squealed in finding purchase. A few shots rang off the rear before they disappeared from sight of the compound and into the anonymity of the city streets.

Tamsin slid down from the rear perch,slamming the hatch shut. Bo tossed her empty rifle to the back seat,which Tamsin immediately snatched up and removed the magazine from. She cleared the action and safed the weapon expertly as the Succubus stared at the human driving.

Kenzi looked nervously at her friend.

“What?,” she asked as she cringed under the icy stare.

“What are you doing in her form Inari?!”

The woman squeaked in fear, her features melting into those of the young Asian woman Bo had seen only once. Bo drew a fist back-

“She’s awake.” she hurried to say as her eyes flicked from the road to the Succubus’ enraged face.

“ She told me to say that you were neither a demon or alien. Which I had no idea what she was talking about, but she told me to say it when you figured-

Tamsin tried to jump to the front, intent on strangling the stranger now driving the truck, but the slowly awakening Vampire and the distance in the confines of a moving car prevented it. 

She watched as Bo raised a hand, at least willing to listen to the shape changer. 

“Kenzi’s awake, but she’s still weak. She made me promise to help you guys if you ran into trouble. And boy did you. I’ve never been so scared as when I saw you guys get taken in. And I’ve never been one to do… anything really. But Kenzi made me promise. And I owe her… so…”

Tamsin gave a frustrated growl as the Succubus seemed to take the idea to heart. Her growl was answered by a soft growl from the Vampire, which she silenced by bashing him over the head with a rifle. The butt shattered impressively.

“Head to Friedmont Street,” the blond commanded.

“There’s a meatpacking plant there that Evony uses to stash unwilling guests. We can call her from there.”

Bo nodded. Inari silently nodded as well, cowed thoroughly by the combined will of these powerful women. Her hope that her arousal was not evident was dashed by the quizzical look the Succubus gave her; Bo shook her head at the aura as well as the blush creeping up the young Fae’s neck.

Tamsin leaned back, swearing to the Heavens.

“Seriously!”  
\------------------------------------------  
 **Bo and Tamsin  
Dark Fae Holding Pen**

With Tamsin there with the writ of arrest, the Dark guards at the meatpacking plant made little trouble about the package, especially with Tamsin’s unsettled and fiery disposition. Their wounds were seen to quickly and expertly, the clothes and other gear Inari had found had been returned to them. 

It was afternoon when they were finally done, parting ways with nothing but a nod and a promise of a few drinks at the Dal. Inari remained with Bo, shrinking from her direct gaze but stubbornly hanging around for orders. The Succubus had been about to yell at her again when her phone rang.

“Hello?,” she answered slowly.

“Hello, this is Evony Marquise’s office calling for Bo Dennis.”

The phone creaked as she nearly crushed it in frustration at another piece of business to deal with before seeing to Kenzi and confirming the Kitsune’s story. Still, she stuck with her manners.

“This is she. I am quite-”

“Ok, thanks. The Morrigan would like to know if you could make a meeting at 5pm today concerning the recent business you conducted on behalf of her office. Would that be a good time?”

Inari stared as Bo carefully considered screaming through the phone at the flunky. She instead took a breath, aware that Evony wouldn’t likely see her at all without an appointment. Not when it concerned something she had hired Bo to take care of. It would be a bit cramped with what she needed to do.

“5pm would be just possible but I would prefer 6 if she is available.”

The flunky typed on a few keys and spoke briefly to someone before answering. 

“6pm is fine Ms. Dennis. She’ll be in the office. Thank you for your time.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

The call disconnected with a click, leaving the Succubus with a sense of the surreal and normal colliding in her life. The Kitsune continued to gape, obviously impressed by a call from the Morrigan’s office.

“Let’s go. I want to hear it from Kenzi. Or I may find myself wearing fox fur out of season.”

Bo shivered as she caught the smell of fear off Inari. And was more than a little disturbed by the flare of arousal she felt when she saw it. The Succubus sighed as she dragged the Kitsune to the Camaro, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing them to clear her thoughts.

She touched her necklace, her touchstone that Inari had so recently ‘stolen’ in the dream world. The young Fae saw it, her eyes sweeping away and then back again. She bit her lower lip and returned to subdued stillness. The pair rode in uneasy silence to the Light Fae compound.

\-------------------------  
 **Bo  
Light Fae Compound**

She strode the stone hallways, pulling Inari in her wake. After being directed to the right area by a ‘helpful’ nurse, Bo’s steps sped as she made her way. She heard Kenzi through two doors, smiling widely as her ears took in the sudden shriek.

“BoBo! My Bo. Get in here!”

She ran now, nurses and staff sliding out of her way as she flung open the doors separating her from her sister. She looked pale and underfed, with bags under her eyes and stringy hair. Kenzi had never looked better, alive and awake as she held out her arms. 

The Succubus enveloped her in a crushing hug, arms around her to pull her very soul closer. The former human took it in stride, her tears matching those of her fabulous partner. They cooed and petted, laughed and cried, even hiccuped as their silent sobs left them swallowing air. 

Bo ignored the hospital chairs, with Kenzi scooting over in her bed and refusing to lose skin contact. Inari could only stare as they reassured themselves, the obvious and unapologetic emotional display making her uncomfortable. And envious.

Sniffling, Kenzi wiped the tears off her cheeks and waved to the Kitsune.

“Bo. I’m glad to see that Inari found you. I told her to-”

Her lips were stilled by a finger, Bo’s nodding head sliding along her own. She kissed her temple and turned to face the awkwardly shifting thief. 

“I know, she explained. I would have much rather have had you there by my side, but she filled in pretty well. She drives like you.”

Kenzi’s mouth gaped, opening and closing like a fish before she slapped Bo’s leather clad arm. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Inari chanced a tiny grin and answered.

“I crashed a Land Rover through a guardhouse.”

Her eyes blew up in imagining the scene. A giggle escaped before she realized what her friend had just implied.

“That sounds AWESOME! Come here and tell me all about it.” The Fae girl was caught up in a flurry of arms as Kenzi motioned her to the other side of her bed. She wiggled to give room.

Everyone froze as the door opened, looking sheepishly at the lovely Dr. Lewis as she entered looking at a chart. 

“Ok Kenzi, I’ve got some-”

She found herself looking at three strained smiles instead of the one she had been expecting. She didn’t even speak, the two extra bed occupants oozed out of the patient’s bed while she looked on in pained acceptance. Such was her life now.

Looking to the two troublemakers now firmly seated in their own chairs, Dr. Lewis looked down again to her chart, settling herself into Doctor mode. 

“We-” And it was broken again as she spoke, suddenly remembering that Lau was… gone. She shook her head, moving on with a nod to herself.

“I’ve run some tests and, I think, managed to narrow down what sort of Chi energy you need to feed on. But first let me ask you a few questions.”

She waited for Kenzi’s nod before continuing.

“Have you noticed any unusual colors or sounds since you’ve been awake? Maybe even scents or feelings that-”

The young woman thought over the questions, her eyes lighting up as she remembered.

“Oh! Yeah Doc. I saw Bo’s… something from like two doors down. When she first came into the hospital. Like I could see this string from me to her. All sorts of colors. And when I think about it I can still see it. And SO many others. From everyone. To everyone. Like someone exploded a Silly String factory. It-”

She stopped speaking, struck by something she was seeing. Reading the monitors, Dr. Lewis tapped her shoulder, then shifted it more firmly to get her attention. The blank look resolved to an abashed blush and then to a display of pain as her hand moved to her head.

“Ugh. Someone lay off the screwdriver to my brain.”

Bo looked concerned but didn’t interrupt as Dr.Lewis nodded. 

“Ok, I guess that pretty much clenches it. I didn’t expect you to push it so soon Kenzi, but you’re seeing the connections between people. Their auras,spirits, Chi, whatever helps you keep it straight. You’re seeing the physical manifestation of the connections we make between friends, family, lovers, enemies, co-workers, even strangers we pass by each day. And you can, and will, feed off them.”

The girl paled, obviously disturbed. Bo stood up, moving to make a physical connection to her friend. Her face whipsawed from horror to contentment at the touch, seeing for the first time the beauty and complexity of the Succubus’ feelings for her. Calmed at the sight of this bright spot in a sea of unknown dangers, Kenzi looked again to the Doctor to explain.

Dr.Lewis was amazing, piecing together clues from the dream, from past related experiences, Lau’s advice and teachings, all brought together into a remarkable whole inside her mind. 

She outlined her conjectures, keeping educated guesses separate from the observed data so as not to confuse the two. Kenzi was surprised to be on this side of the Doctor and find her to be more human than she had thought her capable of. The Doctor suggested a program to help Kenzi figure out her powers and her limits safely and quickly, since she would need to feed fairly soon.

She had the image of a baby bird feeding its’ young when Lauren suggested that Bo feed her Chi until she was well enough to try to feed on her own. The thought gave her shivers, or perhaps it was the idea that she would be ‘eating’ people’s connections to one another. 

Picking up on that unease, Bo spoke up.

“Kenzi, I know it sounds like it’s wrong. Like you can only do bad things to people to keep yourself alive. I felt that way for a long time, before Lauren.”

The subject, so rife with meaning and heartache, stilled the room. Meeting her- Lauren’s eyes- she silently promised to speak to her later. Which added to a long list of things she needed to do soon. But first, she had to comfort her friend.

“Not all connections are good ones Kenzi. Just off the top of my head, I can see ‘Kenzi, relationship consultant’ helping ladies over bad breakups by loosening those connections. Do you think that would work Lauren?”

The Doctor nodded slowly. 

“Yes Bo. That could certainly be something she could feed on. And, like you now have, she’ll need to learn control to keep from severing a connection completely. The sudden absence of a connection can lead to… erratic behavior.”

Another shared experience. Though it was a very clinical way of speaking of what Dyson had done. Or what the Norn had done to him. But he had certainly become erratic. Kenzi wondered what she would have seen with her Heartstring Vision when Dyson’s love had been missing. 

Other possibilities for feeding blossomed in her head. She could break apart a street gang by cutting their connections, or loosening the chains of dominance and fear. Or help Bo trace a perp by following the strings he left behind.

“Do people have attachments to objects? Like their lucky key chain or-”

To her surprise, it was Inari who answered.

“They do. I can see them. If I have something that belonged to someone it makes it easier to make or hold onto their form. You sort of feed how a Kitsune does, we can feed on emotional energy that people feel for whoever we… replace. But it’s not so much a constant need, like people need food. It’s like a vitamin, we usually get enough just living everyday life. But if we’re living as someone else, we need that energy to maintain the form.”

Dr. Lewis scribbled something in the margin of her notes before rewarding the Kitsune with a smile.

“I suspect that Inari is correct Kenzi. But I’m not sure you can feed off that sort of connection. You’ll have to test it. I’ll give you a notebook. I want you to write things down, anything you use your powers for, something you tried that didn’t work.”

A look of disgust was completely ignored by the stern looking Doctor. Dr. Lewis thought it probably reminded the young woman took much of homework. 

“You are, as far as I can tell, either a unique case or an extremely rare Fae.”

“Jeez Doc. I could have told you that. Ain’t nobody like the Kenz!” Her exuberant arm fling was spoiled by her sitting in a hospital bed in a gown, but the thought gave Bo and the Doctor a chuckle.

“That’s true as far as I have ever observed even before your… accident. 

I’d like to keep you here overnight to see to it your fully hydrated and recovered. I know you feel well enough and I don’t know anyone that likes to stay in a hospital, but I still want to get a good baseline to measure from.”

Pleading eyes fell on the Doctor only to be met with a stern look with no room to negotiate. The eyes moved on to her BoBo, only to be met by unshed tears shining in those brown orbs. Kenzi bit her lip to divert her own as her chin quivered and she nodded.

“Ok Doc. No sneaking out.” Her hand snapped a lazy salute as she laid back, surprisingly tired though she had only been awake for a few minutes. 

“Right. I will send a nurse with some ibuprofen in a few minutes. You need some more rest so-”

She turned expectantly to the guests, once again her stern mask leaving no room for argument. Though she saw the Succubus gather herself for an attempt anyway, a lingering hand along her arm from Kenzi swept it away.

“I really am tired Bo. And I know you are too.” Her friend did look tired, her skin had yet to regain its’ color and her general bubbly traits were noticeably subdued.

“Yeah, but I still have a meeting with the Morrigan later. I may not be back before tonight.”

“It’s ok. Inari can come by and give me the deets on your escape. Get some sleep. Wrap up your business with the Morrigan. I‘ll see you tomorrow.”

With a sigh Bo nodded, placing another kiss on her friends’ cheek and stepping away. Dr.Lewis followed she and Inari out.

Lauren followed them a short distance out of earshot. With a toss of her head, Bo told Inari to head to the car. 

“She’s really ok Lauren? Really?”

The human looked down the corridor. With no staff in sight, she pulled the Succubus into her. She stroked the long dark hair from her lover’s neck and down her shoulder, tucking it behind her ear. Brown eyes captured blue as Lauren nodded. 

“Yes Bo. She’s ok. At least as ok as any Fae can be. She’s new and she’s going to need help. But she’s got that, more than you ever had until…” She ducked her head, shy in speaking to her own role in stabilizing the Succubus. But Bo would have none of it, her hand gently pushing Lauren's chin up to meet her shining eyes.

“Until you Lauren. Until you. Yes, Dyson helped show me that I could feed without killing, but it was you that showed me that I could still feel something for people. You and Kenzi. I wasn’t living on the run, I was just surviving. That day in the lab, I could see your desire. But I also saw your care, your honest need to care for me as a person. And I guess I gave you something you needed as well.”

Another quick look to ensure their privacy and Lauren responded with a kiss. Her lips meeting those of her love in tenderness. Bo’s tentative tongue slid to meet her lips, just a wisp of wet heat that gave her a shiver. Her heart leapt in her chest, her breath hitched as the heat suffused through her body into arousal. 

She backed away half a step even as she whined at the broken contact, then moved in again. Her lips feathered kisses on the side of Bo’s mouth, then her cheek even as her stomach clenched and her hands grasped at the sleeves of white coat.

Bo calmed her own hands, their frantic insistence to move underneath Lauren’s clothes instead moving to return the embrace, moving in warm circles on her back and ribs. 

Lauren murmured in her ears. 

“You’re ok, she’s ok, I’m ok.” She repeated it again and again, reassuring herself by words as her skin did by touch. Bo’s familiar scent making its’ way from the olfactory receptors, signals triggering the feelings of contentment and love from the amygdala. Despite the instant recall of the information, for just a moment she didn’t allow herself to fall into the familiar separation; instead just feeling the warmth and safety offered. And Bo gave it readily, having so little of it throughout her own life.

“Kenzi woke up not long after you left. I guess you had your phone off for very prudent reasons. She sent Inari in case something went wrong. And then we heard you were captured, de la Marche probably sent word to the Light to brag. And prisoners of the Dark…”

Lauren paused again to control herself. She sniffled and then nodded.

“ Inari called, and Kenzi just told her exactly what to do. God, Bo. That girl is amazing.” 

Lauren wiped one cheek and Bo the other, kissing some of the tears away.

They separated with another tight grasp, then a kiss. Bo, naturally, left just the ghost of her tongue on Laurens’ lips, even as her nails ran along her lover’s body as they parted. The shiver and flush inspired were appreciated by both parties. A simple look said it well enough.

_Later._

Their hands parted last, fingers stretching out for that final bit of contact before parting. Bo traipsed out of the Compound, the image of beauty and restrained power lingering with Lauren long after she left. 

The Succubus found a note from Inari in the Camaro.

_Went to Lau’s_

Along with a phone number. She nodded, folding the note up and sliding into her car. The drive to the Clubhouse passed in a blur as she barely remembered to set her phone to wake her at 5. The Succubus was out before she could remove her boots.


	16. The Aforementioned Payoff and the Unmentioned Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Morrigan! Love that sexy Bitch!

**Bo  
Office of the Morrigan**

Awake, showered and with 20 minutes to make a 30 minute drive. I could feel a grin just breaking on my face without any intention. I revved the Camaro up and hit the streets with a squeal. 

I left the car parked in the fire lane in front of the Morrigan’s building, I was still feeling a bit of the high I had gotten of the Baron. I could just hear Kenzi’s voice in the back of my head calling me out on my strut. I just shrugged my shoulders and laughed out loud. Even twirled a bit for the cameras that Evony was no doubt watching inside her office, my red velvet jacket billowing.

My hands wouldn’t keep still, with Kenzi awake and on the mend and this Pixie Dust shit getting cleaned up everything felt like it was going well. And the cringe I would normally get from that feeling was entirely absent.

And now I was here, presumably to get the minimum of whatever Evony could give me for cleaning up a mess on the Dark side of Fae town. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open precisely at 10 after 6. Evony’s new assistant, one I have yet to brush past, looked as though she had been staring at the doors willing them to open. She pressed a few buttons and then spoke.

“The Morrigan is just finishing up, if you could-”

Why mess with a tradition? I brushed on by the skinny redhead, just a little flick of my finger on her chin left her dazzled enough to let me by. But I did knock once before opening the door.

It almost hit an Ogre in the face. He huffed up at me, then backed down when he actually saw me and my bright beaming smile. Or maybe my reputation preceded me. Either way I stepped back to let him by.

Evony was pushed back from her desk, idly swiveling in her $5000 office chair. 

“Bo. I was beginning to think I might have to flog Melanie for losing track of you.”

She waved me over to a small couch, moving to it herself. 

Her elegantly polished fingernails flicked a crystal glass as she moved to the inset bar. 

“Would you like something? This Scotch is excellent.”

Far different from my usual treatment on coming into this office. 

“Please.”

Her curls bounce with her nod as she pours another drink. She slides onto the other end of the couch, her knees drawn up a bit. Her Louboutins dangle off her heel, the image of relaxing with an equal. Even her bright eyes grinning at my amused smile, all of it created in an instant to evoke a mood. 

My god, the things I missed before Lau and Trick really began hammering all things Fae into my head.

“What?,” she asks. Her voice is coy and not a hint of calculation shows through her guileless eyes. 

“You are just perfect Evony.”

Just a slight falter in her eyes, a blink of uncertainty that I just catch before she smoothes it over.

“Thank you.” She smiles, flashing her perfect teeth at a compliment that I’m sure she knows was more of a statement of appreciation of the act.

I really want to ask if all Fae get this way, if the politics and games are just a way to fill the passing years, but I‘m not entirely sure I want the preview. Instead I simply wait, a lesson both Lau and Trick had finally managed to drum into me. Patience. 

I enjoyed Evony’s fine Scotch, allowing my gaze to brush the details of the Morrigan’s office that I usually ignored. As Trick had said, even the masks someone wears reveal something about them. I couldn’t really read Evony yet, but just focusing on the details was a step in the right direction.

She had been content to wait for me to rush things along, just a finger twitched as I sat too long for that to be the case. 

“Well, as Tamsin told you, The Dark and this Office owes you for handling that Pixie Dust problem and the discretion and speed with which you did is also appreciated.”

She sipped her drink, the delicate cords and muscles highlighted just right. I was startled to feel a bit of a lurch inside at the sight, the sudden need to fasten my lips and sink my teeth-

And Damn, her eyes light as she sees my reaction. De la Marche’s Chi, powerful as it is, also affects me. Nothing overpowering, especially now that I know to expect it, but Evony is just proving a point. There’s a lot I don’t know about being a Succubus or a Fae.  
She moves on, pointedly not commenting on my misstep.

“That is how the Dark works, my dear. Favors and influence. The Light does as well, but they cloak it in terms of honor and loyalty. I not only owe you but I must be seen paying you. And not just in money. That’s a bit… crass to the more influential of our society.”

I nod slowly. 

“I understand. And I presume a future favor wouldn’t do. You need me to get paid and then be… old news.”

She grants the point with a small nod.

“True. It’s not that I don’t like you,” and she’s preening again. Her aura flares a bit, heat flowing from her heart and down her limbs. She brushes her hair lightly down a bare shoulder. I can feel a stir in my power a slight nudge to reach out and touch that flare, to build it into a blaze. I crush it without a thought, just as she created it with so little effort.

“It’s just as you said, I need to move you from the forefront and put de la Marche front and center. He’s just a symptom, the Elders generally don’t give a damn about following the rules even though they elect the Morrigan to enforce them.   
The… worker bees need to be reminded that the higher ups can be made answerable.”

“And you say that the Light isn’t much better? It sounds messy for either side.”

Then again, the system before the Blood King’s laws led to constant open warfare. The Laws and this system have spared the Fae that horror for several thousand years. I can imagine any system that prevents that from happening again is something most everyone would support.

“It is. And while it would be much less so if someone stepped forward to rule, the bloodshed to make that happen leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. Better a bad peace than a good war.”

So Evony explains what she had come up with. And it really is quite nice.

She’s made me real. A full identity under whatever name I choose, with records showing employment, any training I might want to have appear, a PI’s license, with my previous records and any charges related to them-gone. Poof.

And she’ll do the same for anyone else I might want to include. 

She’s also had the records of the Clubhouse altered so that it is legally in my name, with a title, water and waste services and electricity. 

“And I added full cable service.” She flashed a cute dimpled grin as she put that in.

Full legal personhood. For me and Kenzi. And I don’t miss just how easy that PI’s license would make it for me to get an actual office. The unsaid implication that I would still be a freelance PI if I joined the Dark isn’t really tempting so much as it is effective in showing Evony’s supposed intent. But I know she has her whims. If I were to join the Dark she would have plenty of ‘business’ for me that left me no time for anything she didn’t want me to follow. 

And the really interesting part is that I really can’t turn it down, not without insulting her. And the Dark. And probably having Tamsin back on my ass about that Dark Fae. 

I just shake my head, turning through the pages.

There are some other things, a letter granting me carte blanche at a Dark Fae mechanic’s shop to have the Camero worked on. A few credit cards with average limits and a bank account with an opening balance of $10000 Canadian with receipts showing it open and in good standing for 10 years. Standing appointments at salons and reserved seats at resteraunts, theater tickets, even a gym membership. But those are just the sprinkles. The Camero is a nice touch though, I love it but I know it could use a lot of shop time.

I really don’t have to think about it too much, Trick and Dyson had cautioned me that she would have to be seen paying me so there couldn’t be strings attached. But dangling bait about steady work if I joined the Dark seemed like a nice carrot. 

I read it through twice,with Evony refilling my drink silently as she looked on. 

“All right Evony. I will certainly take what you’ve offered. And I will appear at whatever boondoggle affair you’ve put together to celebrate my victory provided you include Tamsin and I can bring a date.”

She chuckles just a bit at my conditions and my reading of the situation. 

“Of course. You can bring two if you like.”

Still such a bitch, even when she’s paying someone off. Just a subtle reminder of the complications of the life of a Succubus. 

I stand up and she follows, taking my glass as I finish the last warm swallow. Just a hint of sharpness brightens her eyes as I do. She escorts me to the door, her hand just touching my elbow. A firmer touch and I turn to find her only half a step away. 

Fae senses swim with her scent, the hint of the Scotch and her no doubt expensive perfume laid in all the right places. I can see the flare of her arousal simmering beneath her skin, restrained by her will but ready to burst free. My tongue wets my upper lip entirely without thought and I stiffen at my own reaction. I expect a mocking twist to her mouth but instead she speaks softly.

“I really am curious you know.”

And I do know, just as she knows I won’t. She is already backing away, getting just close enough to make a lasting impression and making her intentions clear. My fingernails bite my palms to supress the involuntary shudder as I leave.

Her assistant calls out after me as I press the elevator button.

“Ms. Dennis. You forgot this.”

A manila envelope. I have the other files and documents but I take it from the harried PA. I open it in the elevator, laughing out loud at the contents.

Only the Fae would think that $30K American as an after thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I get her character right? I really like Evony on the show, I want to do her justice.


	17. Expect a Pleasant Down Time, Recieve Fated Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Norn! Only more... Faed out.

**Bo  
Eaton Mall**

Kenzi and I are getting in some girl time at the Eaton Mall. Just a day after her release from the hospital and she’s already looking better. Not that it keeps her from sending me on fetch duty by pouting ‘but I’m so weak!’. I do it happily, for the simple smile on her face.

Today is Lau’s funeral. I’m trying to keep my mind off of it, with Lauren there and asked to speak I had thought I might want to go. But I got the sense that I would be a… distraction. The family and clan hadn’t been rude about it, but in a round about way I had been informed that they would appreciate it if I wasn’t present. 

And, truth is, I was thankful. Lau had been a very important Fae and his funeral would last most of the day. A day cooped up with Fae VIP’s is not a day I want to be a part of. Especially when I can scope out Eaton Mall with my bestie.

We’re making a game of it, guessing the status of the couples we see holding hands or otherwise ‘coupled’. I can see their state of arousal while Kenzi is just starting to tune in on how connected they are. 

I’ve been tops for a while now, I think because Kenzi really only looks at the hot ones.  
Kenzi’s phone rang, distracting us from our game. She answered with a glance at the caller ID. Surprising since most of our friends were either at the funeral or knew we were having us-time.

_Hello?_

_What!_

_No! Slow down. Just-_

_Ok, Ok, I got it. We’ll be looking out for a crazy old women._

_Get back to the… thing. Don’t let anyone see you. You told me electronics were-_

_Ok. Bye._

I looked up to find Kenzi’s eyes wide in shock. 

“That was Inari. Apparently the Norn has been looking for me.”

Kenzi’s phone fell from her limp hand as she stared at an older woman approaching our table in the food court. She wore an elegant flowing white blouse with some smart brown slacks and a modest pair of heels. Her makeup was understated, certainly not enough to cover up the obvious age and bitterness Dyson and Kenzi had described. The stringy, greasy blond hair going gray was now flowing and shiny with a few distinguished streaks in it. She didn’t look like a crone, but I still somehow knew with one look that this woman was the Fae who had caused so much heart break. I stood up quickly to put myself between her and my friend.

“Peace Succubus. I mean neither you nor your thief friend any harm.” 

She touched my tensed arm and suddenly I was flowing back into my chair like water off a ducks’ back. Kenzi’s eyes had taken on a glimmer of… something. Her head was tilted as she stared at our guest. By the time I shook off her… whatever she had done, Kenzi was almost drooling. 

The Norn snapped her fingers in Kenzi’s face twice, causing her to blink out of her trance. By then I was ready to bounce up again and lead with a knife but my BFF turned to me and spoke.

“It’s ok Bo. It’s just a sight… the strings. They move and flutter and…”

She started to stare at the now bemused Fae before I snatched her arm and shook it. I brushed her with my powers, just enough to keep her attention on me for a moment. She put her hands over her face and groaned in embarrassment as the woman across form her smiled.

Annoyed, I snapped at her.

“What do you want?”

She moved from enjoying Kenzi’s discomfort to looking me over. I felt her eyes measuring me so I used what Lau taught me, flaring my presence at her dismissive stare. Her lips quirked even as several mall patrons stumbled and looked my way before I relaxed. She sank into the chair opposite us perfectly at ease.

“Good. I was beginning to think that tales of your exploits had been exaggerated.”

My bestie was beginning to creep out from behind her hands, looking to me first for any sign of danger. I nodded and questioned her with my eyes. She looked down but stiffened her neck and looked to the Norn.

“You sure look a lot different in the light of day. Must be some face cream. And a heck of a stylist.”

The Norn gave a throaty chortle at the taunt. 

“Oh Gods, it’s so nice to be seen again. I rarely have business that I feel compelling enough to leave my Tree.”

Kenzi perks up again at the mention of the Tree, no doubt remembering that it is a weakness that can be exploited.

“No child. I’m afraid I’ve moved from that place. And you’ll find my defenses much more formidable this time. It’s been a very long time since someone surprised me so. No one can find me unless they have business with me. I just never thought to look whether someone had a chainsaw with them.”

I shook my head ruefully again at the idea. It had floored me that Kenzi had gone to such lengths to help Dyson and to hear it again from the other side of the encounter still left me a little in awe of my half-pint of terror.

I watched as my friend straightened herself up. She sat back, game face back on as she looked over her mark. The effect was spoiled by the enigmatic smile the Norn wore but I was still glad to see Kenz get back to herself.

“Did you lose something? Because my friend Bo and I _do_ work as private investigators. We’ve kind of got a reputation. If you’ve got the cash-”

“No. I can’t lose anything I’m not fated to lose.” 

Something about that chilled me and I saw Kenzi shiver as well but the Norn appeared not to notice. 

“I came to see you, Kenzi. To advise you, if you care to listen.”

“About what? I don’t need anything else from you. I think I got more than enough.”

She rubbed at her arm, though it was fully healed now. I remember the angry red mess seeping with… I shook my head to clear the disturbing image.

“Yes, you did. What you got was a strange twist in the tapestry of… Fate. Destiny. I have more I can tell you or you can continue to stumble along like the Succubus with the occasional bit of discovered wisdom from Bo’s delightfully insightful Doctor Lewis. The choice is entirely yours.”

The woman took a card from a classically styled purse, writing on it with a pen.

“An address to a place I frequent from time to time. Bring the Succubus if you like.”

She sashayed a few steps before stopping. She turned to give us a haughty look.

“Ask for Verandy.”

By the time Kenzi turned from our shared dumbstruck looks, the woman had disappeared.


	18. Funeral of an Ancient

**Lauren  
Lau’s Compound**

My mentor, my colleague, my friend, is dead. Lau Hu Mai, Ancient and wise patriarch of his Clan for over twenty-five hundred years, is gone. He passed on quietly, dismissing servants and kin alike, with the day servants finding him in a serene repose in his chambers.

 

It was not a shock to his clan, Lau had been making preparations for many weeks. Many of them were angry at the time he had spent helping me with my investigation into this new drug as well as that he had spent with Bo. But, as was his will, none speak or hint of it. 

As a human, it is not strictly protocol for me to be present at the funeral of this auspicious Fae. But none will defy him in his last wishes, his extensive Will has granted out his many favors and gifts. He will not be challenged in his small foibles in allowing me to attend, but allowing a mere human Doctor to speak a few words is outside even his power.

The Morrigan will speak to his most important contribution, something I played a part in creating. A bright spot of hope in this immensely sad day.

The outer compound is full to bursting with the extended family, while I am escorted to Lau’s own house by his nephew Daniel. Kazue is there as well, to help me dress in the traditional style. We have hours until the ceremony begins and seeing me at wits end, she suggests we move to the dojo.

I nod hesitantly at the suggestion. She has been meeting me for lunch at least 3 times a week, where I take an hour and a half break to run through the exercises she and Lau put together for me. In the beginning, when I observed that the sweeping slow motions looked very much like Tai Chi, Kazue had smiled an odd smile. She explained as she went through the first basic forms.

“Tai Chi is based on it. This form was invented by the Fae to enable their human servants to expand and use their own limited Chi in service to the Clan that they owed their loyalty to. For you it will expand your pool of Chi and improve your health and focus.” She left unsaid the obvious reason for that invention- a stronger Chi pool was left for the Fae of the Clan to feed on or for the humans to use in service to the Clan.

I nodded again, even as she moved to correct my form. Over the weeks, she had taught me several exercises as well as some meditations. These let me ‘feel’ my own Chi state and gave me a much better awareness of my body state. Not that I didn’t ignore my body’s needs for food and sleep when I was working, but I could now feel those needs with precision when I finally came up for air. 

A very short ten minute form she taught me allowed my mind to rest almost as well as a two hour nap, though it wasn’t effective more than once if I didn’t sleep. I found that the exercise helped me with balance and endurance and Bo was appreciative of the new tone my body took on after a few weeks. 

The form we went through was abbreviated but allowed us both to calm our nerves in the wait for the ceremony. It had been rare for me to be able to watch someone do the exercises, now I can see what Bo was talking about when she called them beautiful. 

Kazue and I rested on the mats for a few minutes before we moved on to start dressing. A servant for each of us helped in the bathroom and in getting us dressed in the traditional silk robes. Lau’s niece stayed close to me until I took my seat beside Hale. As the acting Ash of the Light Fae, he was responsible for me and my behavior would reflect on him. 

It was not like any funeral I had ever seen, not like any I could have guessed at. Descriptions in old scrolls and brief words spoken in hushed tones don’t prepare you for the pageantry expected in the funeral of a Dark Fae Elder and Clan Patriarch who had been alive since the middle of the Zhou Dynasty in China. Or, for my Eurocentric brain, before the founding of Rome.

The entire event was held over three days, the first being for immediate family, in which they expressed grief to a degree which should not be shone in public. This, the second, was to celebrate the accomplishments of Lau over his long life. It was to this service that Dr. Lewis had been formally invited. The third service would essentially be a Clan service, to announce elements of Lau’s Will and to pronounce his chosen successor. Should the chosen be acceptable to the remaining Clan Elders, he would reconfirmed at that ceremony. 

Despite many egalitarian views among the Fae, Lau’s Clan was decidedly patriarchal. His successor would be certainly be a male.

It was on this day’s service that the reason for the presence of Daniel and Kazue would be revealed. The cousins would perform a dance of mourning and celebration, a traditional feature of this Clan’s funerals. No one spoke as the pair strode to the center of the teak paneled hall and bowed as one to the displayed body of their beloved Great Uncle.

At first Lauren thought that the pair were fighting, with their blows being neither softened nor slowed as they railed against one another in silence. Kazue, dressed in white robes, struck Daniel first. Her fist struck his nose squarely, leaving a small stream of blood on his emerald green robes. Just before it happened, Hale slipped his hand onto Lauren’s arm, presumably to remind the Doctor not to go rushing up to aid the young Fae.

What she had supposed to be a fight instead morphed into a dance as the pair flitted about in choreographed style. As she watched, she began to see it as she believed it to be meant. It was a visual representation of Lau’s struggles and triumphs in life. Kazue, representing death, had dealt the first blow to Daniel as representing life-Lau’s life. 

Her mentor had explained his origins many times, recounting the death of his first family in a fire. At the time, the Fae had still been primarily clan based and the wars had been terrible. But an idea from the West had begun to spread among them, the Blood Laws. Lau had sworn to the Dark as payment for their enabling his revenge against the rival clan that had killed his family. 

Kazue and Daniel held hands next, producing short swords from their robes and breaking out into a hurricane of blows against their foes. Together the pair moved, sometimes using one another as a focal point for a tremendous leap or a handhold for a series of impossibly quick kicks. 

Lau had been a general for several centuries, winning many battles for his Patriarch and the Dark in Central China and Tibet. His reputation for being a fierce but honorable opponent left some of the Dark Fae jealous. They retaliated against Lau’s Clan Patriarch, an assassination attempt by poison nearly taking his life. It was Lau who procured the necessary ingredients to brew the antidote, using both his leadership of men and Fae to win entrance to the temple which grew the potent healing moss and then his own personal skill in combat in defeating the temple’s Guardian Furies. He had done so by blinding himself with snake venom, rendering him immune to the power of the Fury.

Daniel stood his ground as Kazue thrashed forward and again, constantly shifting her blows away and twisting her back the other direction as he ‘guarded the Patriarch’ never letting death pass behind him. That he did so while blindfolded was quite impressive.

The swords were gone again, presumably disappearing somewhere in the folds of the robes the pair wore.

Now Kazue and Daniel danced again, back and forth in a fast-paced harmony of violence. Lau had, after saving his Patriarch, taken to travel to study the world and his powers. He began to act as he would later in life, a protector and healer. He had been granted permission to start his own Clan by both the Dark and his Patriarch in partial payment for his astonishing deed. Wandering about as a blind man, Lau eventually found himself at peace. His powers granted the return of his sight and his travels has soothed his soul. He was ready to start another family. A Clan of his own.

This was represented as Daniel’s pantomimed laughter as blow after blow from Kazue was avoided or deflected. But, once in a while, Kazue would again score another blow. A small cut from her nails or a blow on Daniel’s cheek would leave a few drops streaming before his Fae healing would recover.

Now Daniel would strike back, his blows bruising Kazue. Nerve strikes would leave her lame for moments at a time. Lau had started to use his knowledge to slow or even stop the spread of diseases among the Fae. More and more Kazue was frustrated as Daniel’s movements became more fluid and economical, his blocks and throws seeming casual and flowing with his own dance. 

Lau had struggled mightily against many diseases and illnesses among the Fae, often traveling the world as word of his skill spread. These were the years he was most pleased with, though his Clan considered his role in battle to be of more consequence. Perhaps it was from their perspective, because they had led to the establishment of the Clan, but to Lau personally his role as a healer had been more satisfying.

Kazue now mimed a tremendous roar and leaped half the distance of the room with an impossibly long spear hurtling at Daniel. He escaped the blow with only a scratch, but the following butt to his abdomen put him down on the ground. His chest rose and fell with less and less frequency as Kazue taunted above his still form. The spear swept around the room, laying waste to those around Lau. The Fae Plague had arrived, laying waste to Asiatic Fae in China and Southeast Asia.

But Daniel rose, his arms now encircled with brass rings which shone brightly as they were struck with the spear. Lau had, in the midst of his fever and delirium, been given some knowledge of how to fight the Plague in a vision. He had alluded to it many times, his mind had somehow sprung up with the idea to delay the symptoms and keep the infected Fae strong enough for their own bodies to fight off the infection. After having nearly fallen to it himself, Lau had concocted the first widely available and successful treatment to the Fae Plague. 

Lauren’s later research in the Congo revealed it to be a combination of natural cures and Fae derived extracts which simulated a primitive antibiotic. Using it as a base, she had been able to target a specific series of antibiotics to make a firebreak against the spread of the deadly disease. In saving the Fae from this plague she had inadvertently doomed Nadia to a coma and death. And herself to slavery.

Hale’s hand was again on her arm. She looked up to find his eyes shining with unshed tears, as her own were. With a solid and determined nod of his head he returned to watching the performance. 

Kazue and Daniel clashed again, returning to a dance. Lauren could see the pause and shuffle that had eluded her before. Each time he pushed Kazue back with this one particular step, it represented a child of Lau’s being born. Over the centuries Lau had had many, many children and outlived many wives. Each child a defiance of death that he was so intimate with. They moved more closely now, their battles now a true dance, steps mirroring each other. 

Now they separated, once again adversaries. The spear and Daniel’s shielding rings shining brightly. But just before, the step, a child born. The room stilled, a collective gasp moved like a wave as Kazue gave a glimmer of a nod. A child so late in his dance? Who could-

Hale’s arm was now under her arms, supporting her as she reeled in shock. Both Daniel and Kazue had looked to her briefly before the step, as did many of the Fae throughout the room. The pair then moved into a frenzy, their steps and blows seldom pulled in, capturing questioning eyes with their skill and passion. 

Regaining her equilibrium, Hale removed his arm and returned his attention to the pair. Daniel now wielded a small single edged blade as well as his defensive rings against the spear. Kazue was now restricted in how she used the weapon, no longer employing the great scything sweeps that took so much space. Her quick strikes were still effective and she occasionally vaulted herself to Daniel’s less protected side, leaving scratches.

The two cousins shone with sweat and blood stained their clothes, having been performing for nearly an hour. Kazue took one last leap, her spear extended, almost reaching Daniel’s heart. Lauren held her breath as the young Fae slid away faster than her eye could track, suddenly appearing just to the left of the spear’s shaft. His sword swiping at Kazue’s exposed neck cutting through her coiffed hair and leaving it tumbling into his hand. 

Kazue mimed shock, her hand moving to her head as Daniel packed the locks away inside his robe. He knelt to the ground before the shocked foe, first to one knee, then the other, and bowed his head in supplication. The force he had contended with through much of his life could not be fought forever; death had claimed him in silence and respect.

Lauren held herself stiffly as the rest of the ceremony trundled on, barely conscious as others guided her through. Hale’s strong presence lent her support and the acting Ash led her to the nearest exit as quickly as possible. She sat silently in his car as he returned to the procession, making sure that his driver knew to watch over her as he returned to his political and social duties.

The driver put food and a water bottle in her hands an hour later. She couldn’t remember what it tasted like, but she had eaten it without complaint. Hale was free of his business a few hours later, joining her in the back of the white limousine. Lauren hadn’t moved an inch, still staring into nothingness.

He carried a gift-wrapped rectangular box, which he sat in her lap. With shaking fingers, she plucked apart the ribbon, then her nails worked the tape away. The box, inlaid with emerald and aquamarine, was etched in gold and silver. The characters spoke of Clan Lau, his deeds and his children. 

Inside lay the sword Daniel had wielded, the hilt emblazoned with the characters for ‘Heart’ ‘Mind’ and ‘Daughter’. Hale looked away as Lauren’s tears flowed freely, her body shaking quietly as her fingers traced the emblems her friend had left to her. 

The Siren spoke softly, modulating his voice as only one of his kind could, to inspire joy and healing.

“In conjunction with The Morrigan and the newly established head of Clan Lau, I will soon announce that the Lau vaccine will be made available to all who wish to be immunized against the Fae Plague. Your work and that of your mentor has passed all trials among the Fae, enabling us to finally put the specter of this terrible disease behind us. And, hopefully, with this first vaccine applicable to all Fae, others will follow. Your work with the Dark Fae Elder Lau will allow the Fae to rest easy in knowing the beginning of the end of this terrible affliction. In addition,”

Hale paused, moving to sit beside Lauren as she sat unmoving in her emotional turmoil. He took her hand and, tentatively, moved his other hand to the necklace around her neck. The Mark of the Ash, thanks to the efforts of both Lau and Dr. Lewis, almost certainly to now be his Mark. Her shining eyes met his as he took the medallion into his fingers. Her entire body was still as she stared at him.

“In addition, in thanks for your tireless efforts in safeguarding all Fae in both creating this vaccine as the invaluable aid you provided the Champion in dealing with the Garuda, you are pronounced to be a free human among the Fae. Your safety is to be guarded by both Light and Dark and you will be free to move among them. If you so choose.”

With a tug, he wrenched the Mark off her neck, slipping it into his pocket. 

“You saved us all from the Garuda Lauren. And I didn’t, I couldn’t… I choose to ignore your sacrifice and well-being in order to reassure a few Elders that your services remained with the Light. That was wrong, I knew it then and I am telling you now. I know it was wrong and I’m sorry.”

Lauren managed a whisper through her thick vocal cords, drying her tears with the back of her hand and brushing her hair away from her face.

“Thank you, Ash.” She resolutely returned his gaze as he continued to speak.

“I’m sure you know that we can’t let you threaten security. But anywhere you want to go, in any Fae community you want, you will be welcome. Just say the word and you can be pitching a hammock on Fiji or rafting down the Colorado River. And, if you want to leave us all behind, well… we can make that happen too. You know how. You can forget all about us. But we will never forget you.”

Part of her mind was giddy with the possibilities. She had supposed that the vaccine effort would lead to some recognition, but never the freedom Hale was offering. She entertained the notion of simply leaving for a moment, but the idea of the knowledge and skill she had earned in her service as a slave left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

Aside from that, she also had… friends among the Fae. She wouldn’t leave them all behind. And, all modesty aside, she was among the best doctors the Fae had in the world. How could she deprive them of that care?

“I’d like to… take some time. To put it all into perspective. So many losses, so much has happened in so short a time. I feel at loose ends. I just need to breath.  
I do know that I will definitely stay with the Fae. Just removing all that I… No, I just can’t do that. “

Hale returned to his seat opposite Lauren, visibly relieved. Despite his ultimate trust in her skills, Lachlan had treated Lauren quite poorly. Even if imprisoning her in the dungeon could be thought of as being for her own protection, it was still no way to treat someone with such valuable skills. Combined with his own arrogance and apparent disregard for her, he had thought that she might simply turn her back on the Fae. And he suspected that one Fae in particular was helping Lauren reach this decision. But that wasn’t a concern for the moment.

“No problem Dr. Lewis. Feel free to take the jet or buy your own ticket. Find someplace to relax. I’ve only been the acting Ash for a few weeks and I already feel like I need a vacation. Soon enough I’ll be confirmed as the Ash and begging you to come back. But take as long as you need.”

The human doctor even gave a small smile at the thought. She nodded. 

“I won’t go too far, maybe a drive to the country. I’ll let you know. But thank you.”

The Siren rubbed his hands on his fine linen pants, nodding his head and smiling.

“Thank You, Dr. Lewis. I’ll drop you off at the Compound unless you have somewhere else you need to go.”

“That would be great Hale- Ash.”

“In private, among people I hope I can still count as friends, please use my name. I get the title from so many people everyday I think I might forget the sound of my name in a few weeks.”

She managed a small laugh through her sniffling, which earned a chuckle from the Fae.


	19. A Secret Faemily?

**Kenzi  
Eaton Mall**

The Norn, Verandy, had given a time and place on her card. The Windsor Hotel. Afternoon Tea at 3:30 pm. I’d been to tea once there, when I was a girl. I remember having to dress especially nice as several family members from different branches met in the Tea Room. Tea in the Russian style, the samovar and the zavarka. Her great aunt Lenia had served hers just shy of sweet with raspberry jam and a bit stronger than her mother would have liked. She had felt the effects on her small body quickly, her attention darting between the adults having very serious conversations in Russian and some other language she didn’t recognize then.

Now though, if she thought about it, it might have been Fae. Which didn’t really make sense.

The Windsor Hotel wasn’t far from the Clubhouse, with late afternoon tea she and Bo had plenty of time. If she could get Bo over this shocked and frozen look.

“What just happened Kenzi? Was she implying that your were Fated to get that… stuff. That you were meant to be Fae? Or meant to be cursed for 10 years?”

I was half dragging her through the Mall to the obvious amusement of several patrons, whose stares I returned times ten. We were nearly to the exit before she put the brakes on, dragging her hand out of my grasp.

“Hey!” 

I could see her jaw clench, her arms and hands tensed in irritation, her head down in determination.

I must have looked worried because her stance softened as soon as I swung around to look at her. She pulled at my hand, pulling me closer to wrap an arm around me and pull me over to one of the convenient lounging chair displays.

“Hey Kenz. What the Fae is going on?”

A giggle escaped at her outrageous use of a Kenzism. She smiled in reply, her hands reaching out to mine. 

“The Norn… Verandy… wants to meet us for tea. And we have to go because she knows… things about me. I don’t owe her anything, like she said. But something is up with how I met her. And, I think, something with my family as well. Because the place she wants to meet-”

“The Windsor Hotel. It’s pretty fancy.”

I blew out a breath as I swam through my memory of the place.

“Yeah. It is. I’ve been there before. To have tea Russian style. And, now that I think about it, I think parts of my family were speaking Fae. When I was about 7 they were having a meeting at tea. I was served a strong glass but kept out of the way as the adults talked. The tea was strong, leaving me jittery and awake so I watched everyone. And-”

I could see Bo getting it now. She nodded as her eyes narrowed, trying to think of the angles.

“And now you think some of your family might have been speaking Fae. Or some Fae language anyway.”

“Yeah. So we double-need to go. For answers about me. And my family.”

The Succubus stood, resolved once again to help one in need. This time it would be me.

“Let’s get to it then. I just wish we could ask Trick about your family. But I’m not sure I can take the time since I’ll have to drink away my anger at him keeping YET ANOTHER Fae thing from me. About my friend. My…sister.”

She squeezed my hand on saying it. I answered with the same, a hitch in my breath as I swallowed against the lump in my throat.

“So how are we supposed to dress for tea? It sounds so upper crust, you know. So I’m betting that leather pants and a tank just wouldn’t be…”

She pulled herself up very straight, leveling her head stiffly, even her upper lip was stiffened as she drolled out the words.

“Proper attire for a lady.”

I Lol’d as we eased into the newly upholstered seats of the Camaro, the new car smell and roar of the powerfully worked engine coming together to prove that we were anything but ‘proper ladies’.

\-------------------------------------------  
 **Kenzi  
The Windsor Hotel**

Despite our best efforts to strike a balance between outrageously inappropriate and classy, Bo and I ended up dressing much as we always do.Though Bo’s shirt did have sleeves. And even a collar. But her pants were leather!

And I finally felt well enough to wear something that hugged me in all the right places. The midriff corset buckled perfectly, my skirt a little longer than usual. Two layers of fishnet over an aqua pullover. It would look good in the purple draped tea room I remember.

The valet was impressed with the Camaro, and even more so when two visions of hotness got out. Bo brushed his hand, asking him to ‘Keep it close, will you.’

I hoped the glazed look didn’t mean he’d forget where he parked the Yellow Mean Machine. He didn’t squeal the tires at least. I think the doorman actually looked both of us over, it’s usually just Bo that I catch them checking out. It’s nice to feel appreciated once in a while.

We are quickly ushered in by a young brunette hostess. Her nametag reads ‘Emily’. She was waiting for us, specifically, and leads us right to a nearly empty tearoom. Bo questions the girl, asking how long our host has been here as I simply try to match what I remember about this place with what is here now .It looks much the same, the only differences being mostly that I’m taller.

In the tearoom only one table is set, with Verandy sitting alone. She nods and Emily steps out,closing the double door behind us. Our hostess stands to greet us and I catch just a small flicker of amusement in her eye as she looks us over. 

Bo leads, her protective instincts pushing her into confronting the perceived danger. Her swagger switch is set to 100% Bitch in the few steps between us and the table. I know she’s going to lean in on the table but, with just a look, the Norn shatters the illusion.

Just a hint of the predator beneath this gentle exterior, a Fae of ancient power and skill. A Fae skilled in the reading and manipulation of Fate itself. Just a glimpse pulls Bo up short. She covers the hitch in her step by moving to pull out my chair, which I gracefully fold myself into.

Unfamiliar with the Russian tea service, or maybe ANY tea service except from movies. Bo’s eyebrows rose in surprise as the Norn poured a small amount of ‘tea’ into her cup and passed it to her. I covered her inexperience by taking the cup and pouring more hot water from the somavar, the aroma of the strong blend rising up from the cup. Bo took the hint, taking up a sugar cube and placing it in her cup. While Verandy served my own I watched Bo take a sip. 

It wasn’t what she expected, that’s for sure. But I couldn’t really tell if she liked it. I guess all the Fae training Lau and Trick had given her a better grasp on hiding things. I put raspberry jam in my own, stirring it gently. We sipped quietly for a moment before our hostess put her cup down and spoke.

“As I said before, I never lose anything I’m not fated to lose. What happened to Kenzi had to happen. It could have come to a resolution in many ways, several of those being with her death, others with a return to her own status quo. But we are left with this one. Kenzi is Fae.   
She made a choice, the correct choice according to her own moral framework, to sleep for 10 years while your Dr. Lewis found a ‘cure’ for the Fae essence infecting her. 

As with all things of any consequence, returning Dyson’s love to him had a price. One you were willing to pay. It was also a gift in a way, something you haven’t yet discovered. But Fate has another role for you to play. One I can help guide you in. If you will but listen.”

It was a struggle for Bo. Even with lessons in all things Fae from Lau, from Trick, Dyson, even Lauren, it was hard for Bo to just listen and learn from a stranger pronouncing wisdom from the heavens. Especially ‘wisdom’ that is unwelcome.

It was complicated and tragic. And it helped explain one of the more interesting things about the Fae-the prohibition against having ‘relationships’ with humans. Verandy spoke first to my most immediate concern, my powers. As Lauren, Bo, and Inari had said, I ‘feed’ on the connections between people. She confirmed that I could feed relatively harmlessly from very large groups of people-sitting in that Mall I could have been just walking around sucking up all those random glances among strangers. They so rarely lead to anything that it’s mostly harmless, if they’re ‘fated’ to be something more then Fate will make it so.

But I can also feed on more substantial connections; break up partnerships, isolate leaders from their minions, even pull families apart if I’m not careful. And I can, as I have learned, make it so someone can’t form any connections at all. It was an accident and in an effort to save my life. I sometimes think that those Bo killed from her first feeds had it easier. 

I will live a REALLY long time. And Verandy wants me to take over her job. I said No at first, but her smile left me no doubt that she believes I will change my mind. In exchange for her teaching me to use my powers, I agreed to apprentice to her. Bo was not pleased in the least, we fought about that for months. But it was my choice. I see Verandy one day a week unless we’re on a case that takes longer, in which case I make it up the next week. In two years I was done, far enough along that Verandy couldn’t reach me any thing else about my powers. We still keep in touch about other things.

I’ve seen what the Norn really does. Her appearance and her manner are just a shield to keep her from being inundated by fools. No one can find her without having business with her, no one that isn’t Fated to. Her price is high, but in line with her results. Inari lost her powers because I was supposed to gain them. When she came to get them back, we would become friends, as she requested. 

It didn’t quite work out that way. As for Dyson, he lost his ability to love Bo. Or anyone. And when I got it back, he could love again. But he hadn’t really thought it through, nor had the rest of us. Lauren got it first, when I was finally able to understand and explain it to everybody. In taking Dyson’s love, the Norn rid him of his mating imprint on Bo. Something he never should have given a Succubus. He should have known that, as a Succubus, Bo cannot be monogamous. Something the Wolf within him would not be able to accept. He’d constantly be challenging Bo’s feeds, driving her to feed less until she weakened or she drained him until he was. Or until someone put one or both of them down.

The price Dyson paid was high, but more and more I see that it was necessary. Dyson can love Bo, and she him, but he keeps just a bit of himself separate now. It’s just too bad that Ciara was part of the price he paid.

As for my family, my Clan as Verandy said, that was tied into the prohibition.

“Many Fae believe that they know why the prohibition is in place, and many of their reaons are valid. 

Some believe it is because one should not love their food. That does sound wise but it is simply a preference.

Others think it is because of the short human life span. The Elders saw so many of their sons and daughters fall in love with humans and then have heir hearts broken all too soon. Or some went to war, seeking a way to extend the life of their chosen. Much heart ache and bloodshed. This is a truth, but not the Truth.

Many feel that it weakens our society, that the barriers between Fae and Human must remain strong. But that is a lie, Fae and Humans have always been intertwined. Humans often served Fae and vice-versa. 

Finally, it is about genetics. A Fae and a human mating produces only human children. Or so you have been told. The reality is much more complex. 

Humans carry Fae recessive genes. These humans are often extraordinary people; exceptional athletes, exhibit genius in the sciences, artists that transform the world, even leaders that bind nations. Not all for the good, but most exceptional in at least some way.

In earlier times, these humans would also become shamans, monks, even Druid priests and oracles. Able to sense Fae and earthly energies and magics. To blend the elements together to perform miracles, to listen to the spirits and guide their tribes, these abilities are few and far between now.” 

I guess that explains the many ‘witches’ and ‘spiritualists’ in my family, they may have some small bit of power but it’s still mostly a con.

It was a lot to take in, our tea time meeting was running quite long when the Norn revealed this secret. It thankfully gave us excuses for long silence, making a cup of tea or filling a plate of snacks.

“Your family Kenzi, your Clan, is both Fae and human. The branches are parallel, with the clan Elders enforcing the prohibition as best they can. Your Clan, the Malikovs, had been losing their most powerful members to human love, pulling those abilities out of the gene pool as it were. 

But your Clan also knows another secret, something that concerns Ms. Dennis.”


	20. The Curious Mating Powers of the Succubus

**Kenzi  
The Windsor Hotel**

Bo had been mostly silent by then, simply being there for me as the ancient Fae laid out these secrets of Fate and my family. But her head moved so quickly I thought she might snap her neck when Verandy mentioned her name.

I couldn’t really read Bo then, as the Norn laid it out. She was like a statue, frozen in a look of disbelief.

“A Succubus is much more than you know, Ysabeau. In the days of Kings and Queens and arranged marriages, a Succubus would, ah, lay with the couple on their first night. And many nights after. It was her job to build a bond between the newlyweds as well as insure a child was conceived as quickly as possible. She could use her powers to build that bond, eventually slipping away in silence as the job was done. Children born of such unions were always found to be powerful or extraordinary, blending the powers of their Fae parents in ways rarely seen in ordinary pairings. Human rulers who used this service found their offspring to excel in ruling their kingdoms as well, at least until the Fae began withdrawing from human sight and society.”

Verandy underestimated Bo, but my bestie understood something about that immediately.

“I guess that’s why Succubus are so rare. I would bet nobles didn’t really like their kings and queens so powerful and able. Fae or Human.”

Verandy nodded thoughtfully, her eyebrows rising. 

“Yes. Assassinations and witch hunts cut the numbers of your kind down considerably until the practice was mostly forgotten. Except by a secretive few.”

What she told us next shocked everyone, even the Blood King had not known about it. Lauren was at once terrified and thrilled. And it was sworn by all that no one would ever speak of it to anyone outside our circle.

“The Malikovs remember and, more importantly, they know something else. If a human female and a Fae are ‘helped’ by a Succubus, the resulting child will be Fae. And not just any Fae, a very powerful one. Showing the traditional talents and strengths of that Fae’s clan as none have in 10 generations. This is why the Malikovs have kept close contact with their human descendants. While others have laughed at them, they have been planning for the future.”

“They want to use me to become powerful? To rule over-” Bo was angry now, even her threads to me pulsed in red and green. But Verandy stilled her anger with a touch.

“No, not in the way you mean. Well, yes, they do want to be powerful. All Fae do, especially the Clans. That’s what they are organized for. But the Malikovs don’t want to use you as a brood mare or however you might think.”

“Instead they would like you to do much as you do now, except with a few of their chosen candidates. They will not compel you, but they will entice you. A Clan, existing over thousands of years, builds wealth and power beyond the dreams of most. What you have earned from the Morrigan would be but a small sample of what they could do for you.”

Bo isn’t really built to want material things. Her life, the way she has had to live, she doesn’t get attached to things. But to people, the people she makes her family, those she will fight to death to protect. From what Verandy is saying, the Malikovs might start with material things, but I don’t doubt they can find some way to keep what Bo loves safe. Or find some way to threaten it. The Norn speaks to that after only a moments pause.

“They cannot compel you to share this gift. It had been tried, in the past, but more often than not the children born from such a sharing burn out spectacularly. Some of them bringing ruin to their entire Clan or Kingdom. Keeping the Succubus locked up, even in a gilded cage, just led to them breaking out or dying in the attempt. And those Succubus were often avenged by others. They could not afford other Clans to get the idea that they could profit from doing such a thing.”

Verandy snapped her fingers and a waiter appeared with a crystal bottle. The Norn took it with a nod, pouring a generous amount of brandy into Bo’s cup. She drank it in one gulp, her pale skin coloring as the strong liquor hit her system. It shocked her out of her funk and back into investigation mode.

“How would it work? This ‘enticing’. I just can’t see how that could work. For me or for them.”

“You understand, they can afford patience. You might not even have noticed, if I hadn’t told you. You would find yourself amidst a Fae Clan relocating to this city. The Malikovs would start buying clubs and resteraunts, gyms and coffee shops, other social venues. You would ‘bump into’ a lot of Russian couples who would be very interested in sharing their bed with you. Over the decades it would simply add up, the Malikovs would be gaining strength and you would be acquiring a taste for Russians. Somewhere along the way I would imagine that the Malikovs have a human line with Succubus genes of their own but so far back that it would take generations for the traits to take. But eventually they would.”

The look Bo gives is hard to decipher.  
When I asked her about it later she told me , “It was kind of a blend of revulsion, admiration, pride, and confusion. And when I thought about it honestly, I wasn’t too happy to realize that not only would it have worked I might have simply never known.”

Five hours of sitting, of our minds being squashed and our world-view being tumbled, it was time for use to go. There would be other conversations, more questions Bo and I would ask of the Norn, Trick, even Clan Elders.

But first there were more important things.

“So do we head to the Clubhouse? The walls are done, the workers cleared out yesterday.”

Bo numbly shook her head. 

“I need the good stuff. Enough to put a dent in Trick’s profits for the month.”

I give a quick nod. 

“I am down with that plan.”

Inside the Camaro, the top pulled down, I point imperiously.

“To the Dal!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that wraps this up really. I do have some ideas for another story. Several in fact. I'm going to try to do it like this one, where it is pretty much completely written before I post it. I really hate it when I get involved in a story and then I find out it hasn't been completed and may never be. And try to follow my own new rule about not 'finishing' too much of in my head before I write it down.
> 
> I think this thing took me about 2 months to write. I think I can write another over my coming up vacation. We'll see.
> 
> That being said, I could really use some feedback about the story in general. What you liked, what you didn't. If the characters seemed right. I was really worried about getting Kenzi but I think I managed it ok. Not sure if I made Lauren too emotional, we don't see her do a lot of crying but I thought that having Lau as a mentor and friend dying she should show some reaction. 
> 
> As an OC, was Lau too much? I really wanted him to come across as a healer in the same vein as Lauren but much older. Relying more on his experience, powers and understanding of Fae biology and...well... magic. Whereas Lauren is much more scientific. 
> 
> As I said before , Tamsin and Bo teaming up the way they did, with the attack on Severin, was a surprise to me. I had initially only brought Tamsin out to escort Bo in Dark Fae investigations and to irritate her further regarding that Dark Fae she drained. But then this happened. And then Evony got involved. And, sexy bitch that she is, she demanded some screen time. 
> 
> I also wonder about Kenzi's 'dream' sequence, I was really unsure if I was getting my point across as to what was going on. Ethereal things like that are difficult to put into words, where I can visualize it easily. 
> 
> Any comments you care to write regarding the writing are welcome. Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback strongly encouraged.


End file.
